


Sigh No More

by edenwolfie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, First Time, Fix-It, Food Issues, Hurt/Comfort, Intoxication, Kid Fic, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Slavery, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, That's Not How The Force Works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2018-08-12 02:03:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 292,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7916152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edenwolfie/pseuds/edenwolfie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin makes slightly better choices, Obi-Wan is a Mess™ and Padmé deserves none of this. AU from Mustafar onward with liberal manipulation of canon to culminate in some angsty, fluffy, domestic fix-it because we all deserve better.</p><p>I'm going to fix everything Lucas broke if it kills me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> So! This is new, me actually posting the trash I write; it might be the begining of something magical! The fic is un-beta'd so if you spot any mistakes, please feel free to point them out. I am also super interested in getting feedback on my writing as I've been doing it in a vacuum for years and have no idea how it actually stands up out in the real world, so please, if you are interested in giving out constructive criticism, I'd love some.
> 
> Unsure at this point how frequently I will update. I have 26k of story, it's just not necessarily in a linear order or is missing patches which need filling in before it can be posted. Either way, the thing is becoming a monster, but we shall see how it progresses and shall take this journey together.
> 
> Beyond all of that, enjoy!

Darth Vader watched from the landing platform of Mustafar as the ship's ramp lowered. 

He could feel Padmé on board, her life force bright in the now lifeless darkness of the planet. He had sensed her when the ship had first entered the atmosphere, instantly drawn towards her. He could faintly feel Obi-Wan as well, though the remnants of their bond were heavily shielded. From both ends.

He watched their two figures stand together, silhouetted by the bright inner light of the ship as there was a brief exchange between the pair.

Vader knew that Obi-Wan was here for him because he’d fallen, because he was finally who he was meant to be. Dark. Powerful. Obi-Wan must have dragged his heavily pregnant wife along for the ride to try to turn her against him, to try to _use_ her against him. 

_Despicable,_ Vader thought venomously. He would show Obi-Wan what he had learned.

He stood silently watching, feeling the heat of the planet envelop him, Vader’s anger simmering beneath the surface like the lava below his feet. The burning scent of sulphur permeated the air and he blinked ash away from his face. 

A minute passed and Padmé's shape drew back into the ship. Obi-Wan walked down the ramp alone.

He walked steadily towards Vader, his head held high and robes billowing behind him from the hot air swirling around them. He looked as high and mighty as he always did. 

Vader could bring him low.

"What do you want?" Vader barked out, stance rigid and closed, his eyes carefully tracking his ex-mentor’s movements.

Without replying, Obi-Wan reached to his belt and unclipped his lightsaber. Vader immediately tensed before him, his hand reaching for his own 'saber.  Obi-Wan shook his head minutely and moved slower than before, body language non-threatening, and didn’t even light the blade when it was in his hand. When Obi-Wan knelt on the ground in front of Vader, he felt the frown on his face deepen. 

Obi-Wan reached forward slowly and took Vader's hand in his. 

"What do you want?" Vader asked again, staring down at his old Master, his hand tense and refusing to follow where Obi-Wan was attempting to lead it.

Obi-Wan placed his lightsaber in Vader's hand, his own pressed over the top, warm and firm. He twisted Vader’s hand until he relented and the blade end was pressed against Obi-Wan’s chest, exactly over his heart.

"I want you to kill me," Obi-Wan breathed out, staring down at their intertwined hands.

Vader inhaled sharply, eyes wide as he stared down at the scene below him with strange detachment.

_This weapon is your life,_ a voice in his head echoed.

Surely he had misheard?

"What?" Vader asked, voice sharp. 

He was tempted, _so very tempted,_ to strike his old Master down where he knelt. What a foolish old man! Did he not realise how much more powerful Vader was now? He felt his own grip tighten on the lightsaber hilt, his resolve strengthening.

Words spilled out of Obi-Wan, his hand tightening over Vader’s, an absent thumb stroking over the back of his hand. "I've dreamt of this for weeks. You stand here and kill Padmé when she tries to reach you, then we fight, through lava and fire, and I kill you…”A tear slipped down his cheek and he took a shuddering breath. “Every night, the same thing and I can't let that happen. So kill me instead; take out all your rage and hatred and mistrust on me because I… _I failed you_." Obi-Wan swallowed and stared up into Vader's golden eyes. "Kill me and keep Padmé alive. Take her and your children far away from Sidious where they'll be safe."

Vader stared down in disbelief, unsure of even where to begin. 

Obi-Wan had seen this? He was the one to cause Padmé's death? But Palpatine had said he could save her? Obi-Wan would choose to die to save her and their child?

”No," Vader breathed out, feeling conflict swirl up through his chest, tight and painful. 

He'd sworn his allegiance to Palpatine hadn’t he? And here he was, torn over the death of one Jedi? A Jedi he’d thought didn’t care for him. He _should_ kill him.

" _Please_!" Obi-Wan begged, his eyes unfocused but his grip firm on the lightsaber over his heart. “You were my brother, Anakin, I loved you. This is the only way I can help you now. _Please, just—_ ”

Something snapped in the back of his mind and everything slammed into sudden focus.

“Loved?” Anakin blinked away more ash that had landed on his face. “And now?"

Obi-Wan shook his head and closed his eyes, the particles in the air moving around him. "I still do." His hand clenched painfully hard over Anakin’s, his fingers shaking faintly. "But it all hurts too much now. Please, just make it _stop_."

Anakin realised what he was going to do the moment before it happened, feeling the twitch in his Master's hand and a sharp warning in the Force.

"No!" Anakin cried, wrenching the lightsaber away from Obi-Wan's chest as the familiar snap-hiss echoed between them. 

Obi-Wan crumpled before his eyes, falling sideways onto the hot earth. A hoarse cry escaped Anakin's lips, and he fell to his knees beside his friend, the ground of Mustafar burning up through his clothes.

"Obi-Wan?" He asked quietly, hands fluttering over his body. 

He received no response. 

Anakin rolled him over so Obi-Wan’s head was cradled in his lap and was relieved to see the shallow rise and fall of his chest.  _Not dead_. Anakin searched frantically over his form, his hand catching at a tear in the fabric on Obi-Wan's left arm. Anakin inspected it quickly and found evidence of a lightsaber burn slicing across his skin, thankfully not too deep. It was the only wound he could find. He blinked down at his old Master. Why was he unconscious?

He stared into Obi-Wan's face, only now noticing how pale and thin he looked. His face was streaked with soot and sweat, breath struggling past his chapped lips. Was he sick? He didn’t remember Obi-Wan being unwell before he left for Utapau.

"What happened!?" 

Anakin glanced up as Padmé approached and shook his head.

"Did you kill him?" She asked quietly, standing still some meters away. Her voice was high and thin, disbelief at what she was seeing colouring her voice. He felt his chest tighten.

"No," he breathed out, "he wanted me to, though."

There was a long pause. “Ani, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know anymore.” He couldn’t bring himself to look up, his hand now pressing down on the lightsaber wound on Obi-Wan’s arm.

He heard Padmé walk closer and felt a tentative hand rest on his shoulder, softly stroking down his arm. “Ani, love,” she started gently, but he could hear the tremor in her voice, “let’s just go. We can bring him with us. Let’s just run away like we imagined.”

He could.

He could go with Padmé, with Obi-Wan. Take them both and go far, far away from Sidious. Raise his child far from whatever was left of the Jedi Order and the Republic.

He could kill Obi-Wan and return to Sidious having proved his conviction and brought his wife home alive, victorious. She would never have to die. He could raise his child near his Sith Lord and Master, and the ruins of his entire life.

“Ani?” she asked, hand threading through his hair.

He nodded and pressed against her touch. “Okay.”

“Okay.” She pulled back. “Okay. Right.” He had never heard his wife so flustered or at such a loss for words. Force, he’d done this. “Can you carry Obi-Wan?”

Anakin stood and reached down to Obi-Wan, curling his arms beneath his knees and arms, pulling him up and tucking him close to his chest. He frowned; Obi-Wan was lighter than Anakin remembered him being.

He followed Padmé back to the ship. 

Once inside, Anakin placed Obi-Wan on the bed and sat down beside him with his legs off the edge. Anakin ran a shaking hand over Obi-Wan's forehead and hair, noting how the dark brown of Obi-Wan’s robes contrasted with the pale blue patterns on the sheets. 

He and Padmé had spent many long hours in this bed together. Any spare moment in between battles during the war they would curl up together beneath these blankets and plan a better life for them both, and later, their child. Hours spent in her intimate embrace, feeling for all the galaxy that everything could turn out alright.

Now Obi-Wan lay there, looking like death, with the galaxy burning around them. In this light Anakin could see how ill he really looked; skin pasty and cold beneath his touch, and his breath was still coming short and sharp and pained.

“Obi-Wan… I’m so sorry,” he whispered, leaning over his Master. Anakin pressed his lips to Obi-Wan’s forehead, eyes squeezed shut, his left hand cupping his master's face. “ _Kriffing hells,_ this is all my fault _._ ”

How could he have let any of this happen!?

“Ani?” Padmé sat on the end of the bed facing toward her husband and Anakin could see the endless questions in her eyes. He had never been more proud of her when she finally asked, “Where should we go?”

“Tatooine. For now at least,” he decided. “I told Palpatine I’d never go back there. He won’t look there. At least for a while.”

She nodded her head toward the cockpit of the ship. “Come help me set the course.”

“Okay.” He ran a final hand through Obi-Wan’s hair. “Then we should take a look at Obi-Wan. I don’t think he’s well.”

Her eyes flickered over the man on the bed and she pursed her lips. “I think you may be right. Let’s do this quickly then.”

He followed her out to the cockpit and took the seat beside her.

“I’ll disable any tracking devices and change the registration signature of the ship,” Padmé said, digging into the right hand console. “You set us a course.”

He nodded and went to work immediately, plotting a course around where he knew Republic— _Empire?_ —stations and troops were. They worked in silence, the occasional bout of muttering filling the air. Anakin finished before his wife did, his skill and knowledge speeding him up. He sat and watched her work while he waited.

She was so beautiful. He found his eyes lingering on Padmé’s form as she focused intensely on her task, her slim frame curled protectively over the swell of her stomach. She was due in the next month and he admired her for still being so active while so heavily pregnant. A light flush covered her cheeks and a few stray hairs fell out from her plait while she worked, her clever mind and fingers working to keep them safe.

“I love you,” Anakin admitted quietly.

Her entire body stiffened and she glanced hesitantly at him, a frown colouring her features. 

He’d never received that reaction before. “Padmé, I-" Anakin began.

“We are _not_ talking about any of this right now,” she gritted out. “I’m too angry at you to have a civil conversation about any of it.”

She set her jaw and turned back to her work, completely ignoring him.

A few more minutes passed before she sat back and said, “Finished. We should be untraceable now. You take us off, I’ll check on Obi-Wan.”

Padmé stood up and walked back to their cabin without a backward glance, leaving Anakin sitting alone.

Force, he had fucked up so badly.

Anakin sat at the console, staring out at the volcanic activity on Mustafar. How could he have let this happen? He’d always fought for the right thing: keeping the Republic safe, keeping the Sith and the Separatists at bay, keeping Padmé and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka safe. He’d hated the Council and the Order at times, but he didn’t want them _dead_. And he’d _joined the Sith_. Sure, he’d now finished the Separatists off once and for good, but _Force, at what cost?_ What had he been _thinking?!_

He cut off that train of thought. He had to get them both to safety first.

Anakin refocused and fired the ship into gear. He flew it manually out of the atmosphere, watching the red and black of the planet get further and further away until only the blinking lights of space surrounded him. He hit the hyperdrive and watched the stars blur together. 

They were really doing this.

Anakin let out a long breath as he watched the stars fly by.

His job done, Anakin walked back to the bedroom and leant against the doorframe, watching quietly. Padmé sat cross-legged in the centre of the bed, a bag of medical supplies open beside her. Gauze, bandages and pills lay scattered around her while she stared down at her patient. A wet cloth lay across Obi-Wan’s forehead, and a bandage was wrapped firmly around his upper left arm.

“Is he okay?” Anakin asked from the doorway.

“I’m not sure,” Padmé admitted quietly. “He should recover from the wound on his arm, it’s the illness I’m concerned about.” She sighed. “How long until we reach Tatooine?”

“Nearly a week. I’ve taken us on a longer, more evasive route,” he informed her.

“Time to sleep then.” She proceeded to tuck Obi-Wan beneath the sky-blue blanket, before sliding under it herself. “You too, Ani.”

Anakin blinked at the strange sight of his former master asleep beside his wife. It unnerved him less than he thought it would.

“Stop thinking,” Padmé demanded. “Come to bed. You need to sleep.”

So he did.


	2. Coping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything happens so much #PadméDidn'tDeserveThis
> 
> Well this was done quicker than I thought it would be. Did I mention that there's a POV rotation in this story? No? Well, we're up to my eternal babe, Padmé. Thank you for the positive responses from last chapter, it was a great motivator to get this chapter out before the weekend. You are all lovely and I hope you enjoy the continuing story.
> 
> Not sure how long until the next chapter is done, there's already a bit written, but school has just gone back and am not sure how hectic it's going to be for the first little while. It may take me a little bit of time to get on top of a new school and new students and new systems. We shall see.
> 
> As usual, story is un-beta'd so please feel free to point out issues, and I'm always up for some constructive criticism. Otherwise, all aboard the angst train, and as usual, enjoy!
> 
> TW: food issues (see end notes for specifics)

Padmé awoke feeling warm and contented. Her bed smelt familiar, a warm mix of her and Anakin; a comforting intertwining of spice and flowers. Padmé curled closer to the body beside her, his arms wrapped around her body and inhaled.

…that was not Anakin.

She opened her eyes slowly and frowned at the wall of brown. What?

Padmé’s brain finally kicked into gear. 

It was Obi-Wan. She’d let him sleep in their bed. 

Padmé shifted slightly, pulling away from the other man, but found herself trapped. Anakin was apparently plastered against her back. She couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

Gods, what had her life become.

She sighed internally and mulled over her options. Leave Anakin and Obi-Wan unsupervised in a room together (No!) or stay in the warm cocoon of blankets, wrapped up in the two of them. 

Padmé decided that remaining where she was was going to be her best option. Leaving them was just begging for trouble, and they already had that in bucketloads. Besides, she was comfortable and warm and still so very tired. She would deal with them both later. 

Sleep tugged at the edge of her consciousness, drawing her down into darkness, so Padmé willingly followed.

* * *

Anakin was up and about when Padmé woke next. Anakin’s heavy footsteps paced through her wardrobe, with intervals of the sharp slide of a coat hanger or pull of a drawer. Obi-Wan was still curled up next to her, breathing softy.

“Ani?” Padmé asked quietly, sitting up and rolling away from Obi-Wan. A quick glance at him showed he was still dead asleep, looking slightly less gaunt than the night before.

Anakin’s head appeared in the doorway to her wardrobe. “Yeah?”

“What are you doing?” Padmé gestured him back into the room, followed him in, and attempted to quell the nervous roiling of her stomach.

“I was trying to find something to wear.” Anakin stood at the centre of the small space, his robes half pulled off of himself, a small spattering of ash on the carpet around him. Padmé sighed, remembering she’d allowed him to sleep in the bed while he had been wearing that. The sheets must be filthy.

The cupboard on the left of the room that housed her dresses had been opened with most of the items of clothing shoved to one side. The dark wooden drawers to the right had been pulled open and riffled through, underclothes and accessories peeking out of their compartments.

“You know I don’t keep your things out in the open,” Padmé admonished and slipped past him to the back wall where a large painting hung. It was something modern and popular and colourful. Padmé didn’t particularly care for it, but it served its purpose. Feeling around the side of the picture, her finger caught on the switch. The painting clicked and swung open gently.

“Your things are in there,” Padmé informed him, and made to leave the wardrobe. 

Anakin leant forward as she passed, making a quick attempt at leaving a kiss on her cheek. Padmé pulled back, taking a step further away from Anakin. She shook her head, not looking at him, and left the room.

Food. Breakfast. That was a good idea. Some food and a break from feeling like she was walking through a minefield whenever she and Anakin shared a room. 

Padmé wanted to hate him for what he had done. A tiny part of her wanted to just smack him in his idiotic, awful, kriffing handsome face. She wanted to scream at him about how _stupid_ and _selfish_ he’d been. It went against everything she had ever fucking stood for, _how could he—?!_

_Stop_. Padmé sucked in a deep breath. Breakfast. Good idea.

Padmé entered the kitchenette and managed to scrounge up some bread and spreads, mechanically following the motions, switching the kettle on and digging crockery and cutlery from the cupboard. Somehow, she ended up with a cup of caf and toast sitting in front of her. She barely remembered making it. 

She scarcely even tasted the food. Padmé objectively knew she’d put something on the bread, it just didn’t seem terribly important. She stared ahead, focused on absolutely nothing, nothing, nothing, Anakin standing over Obi-Wan with his ‘saber held to the chest, Anakin’s eyes—no, nothing… Anakin’s glowing—no, no. Not that. Caf. Caf was good. 

Padmé tipped the contents of the mug into her mouth… it was cold.

She grimaced down at the mug, offended it had betrayed her in this way, just like fucking everything else—!

The mug shattered on the wall. The sound bright and sharp and oh, so gratifying. The remnants of the caf slowly oozing down the wall.

Padmé dropped her head into her hands in frustration. At herself. At Anakin. At fucking everything. 

Ignoring this was clearly not helping.

After a short period of staring blankly at the pale blue countertop, she supposed that she had hidden for long enough. Padmé had heard Anakin patter into the cockpit a good hour or so ago. It was time to meet this head on.

Padmé picked the broken cup shards up off the floor and dropped them in the recycler, the pieces clinking down into the bowels of the ship, before finding a towel to mop up the caf. Leaning down was such a damn pain this late in a pregnancy. When she made it through the birth—which she fucking well would, Anakin and his visions be damned—and when she had forgiven him for all of this, they were both having some serious talks about upping their contraception.

Speaking of, she was fairly certain Anakin hadn’t eaten. That seemed a good a pretence as any to go speak to him. Padmé threw another few slices of bread into the toaster, the warm smell of toast permeating the room, before she slathered jam over it. It was better than nothing.

Picking up the plate, Padmé walked steadily out of the dining area and entered the cockpit, placed the food on Anakin’s lap, before she backed up to to sit in the other chair in an attempt at keeping some breathing space between herself and Anakin. She felt distinctly… nervous around him. She remembered vividly the crushing feeling in her chest when Obi-Wan mentioned the _younglings—_

“Have some breakfast,” Padmé said softly to the room. “What are you up to?”

Anakin glanced down at the food, then back over to her, his eyes a very welcome blue in the bright lights of the control panel.

“I wanted to check the ship was still on course,” Anakin said, taking a bite out of the toast. “Thanks.”

Now or never.

“Ani,” Padmé began, staring out at the stars streaking by them, “what happened yesterday?” Anakin stopped chewing. Padmé briefly glanced at him and found his eyes fixed directly on her. She went back to staring out of the ship. When he didn’t speak, she continued, “Obi-Wan already told me a lot about… your fall, and Palpatine.. but what happened down on Mustafar? I don’t understand that.”

Another minute of silence passed, accompanied by the sharp feeling of Anakin staring at the side of her face, before he finally spoke. “Obi-Wan wanted me to kill him.” Anakin said, voice only barely above a whisper.

Padmé turned her head and finally looked at him. She hadn’t seen this particular expression on his face since he was a child. Soft and open and slightly crushed at the edges like a discarded piece of paper.

“He said…” Anakin struggled for a few moments, a frown flashing across his face. “He said he’d had a vision or something about yesterday. That— that I killed you.” Anakin’s eyes had gone bright and shiny. Padmé looked away, “That he killed me.”

“Then why would he—?” Padmé asked.

Anakin shook his head, blinking hard. “I think he planned to take your place. Let me kill him so that I wouldn’t—” A sharp inhale. “Padmé I could never—Not him, not you. But I _wanted to_. I wanted to kill him… Force, what if it _had_ been you?”

Padmé could feel tears pricking at the edges of her eyes and furiously blinked them away. Gods this was so _fucking awful_. How had their lives come to this?

Anakin made to move across the space, sliding forward in his chair, eyes soft and comforting, but Padmé held her hand up and shook her head.

“I—I’m going to need some space, Ani.” Padmé said, voice quiet and shaky as she stood up. “This is… it’s so much… and I just—”

“Padmé,” Anakin pleaded quietly, eyes glistening, his hand reaching for hers, “I want to fix this.”

Nope. She was not feeling up to this right now.

“You, eat. I’m going to go check on Obi-Wan,” Padmé said firmly. She turned on her heel and fled the cockpit. Deep breaths, she reminded herself, and willed her panic away. She felt the knot in her chest loosen when Anakin didn’t follow her. 

Padmé returned to the bedroom and found it empty. A quick look in the fresher and wardrobe revealed it to be devoid of Obi-Wan as well. She knew she should have kriffing tied him to the bed. If Padmé made it through this flight without lashing out at either of them, she suspected it would be a miracle and she might perhaps have earned a medal. She ducked her head into the lounge, but found it empty, before retuning to the kitchen and found Obi-Wan seated at the table.

Padmé watched Obi-Wan lean against the bulkhead of the ship from his chair, listing gently with it as it flew, clearly unsteady in his seat. She could see how his hands trembled on his lap, how his eyes were unfocused and far away, sunken in his pallid skin. 

Gods, he still looked terrible.

She moved to sit across the table from him, hands folded delicately on the surface in front of her. “Obi-Wan?” Padmé asked quietly.

He blinked once, and turned his gaze to hers. “Yes, Senator?”

She frowned, “Padmé, please.”

He nodded.

“How are you doing?” she tried.

“I’m fine.” He smiled at her, the expression thin and wavy. 

Padmé found it wholly unconvincing. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”

She pursed her lips together but didn’t push it. Padmé sat with him a few moments more before his eyes lost focus and he was clearly no longer in the room with her. Something wasn’t right here, she was sure of it. This was not the Obi-Wan she was used to who was all smiles and quips and intelligent conversations. Certainly never one to turn down a cup of tea when it was offered.

Padmé took a deep, steadying breath.

She was floundering and she knew it. Obi-Wan had clearly crashed and burned. Anakin was a complete mess she couldn’t even begin to clean up. She was stuck in a ship, on the run, pregnant, with two men who were clearly drowning beneath something she didn’t quite understand. 

This was hopeless.

She stood up and walked back into the lounge leaving Obi-Wan to his own thoughts.

Padmé sat on the couch, staring out at the stars as they flew past at speed, hands curled around a pillow she’d pulled to her lap.

She couldn't see a way through the situation.

Padmé flopped sideways on the couch, clutching the pillow to her chest as the tears spilled out. _Anakin had turned to the Dark Side_. He had killed people, _children_. A sob ripped from her lips, ragged and pained, and pressed her face to the pillow to smother her cries. Her chest hurt, tight and hard, from the pain in her soul. Gods, how could this have happened!? Anakin was so good, so sweet, but he’d—and Obi-Wan was trying to hard for them both, had been ready to die for _her_. Whatever had she done to inspire that? How could he ever think that was _okay_? Padmé sobbed hopelessly, wetness spreading along the cushion, hands curled tight. _What was she supposed to do?_

Padmé lay there for some time, body curled up on the couch, sobbing desperately for the life that had shattered to pieces around her.

Finally, she took a deep breath and allowed her muscles to relax, a few tears still slipping past her lids. “I can do this.” Padmé told the empty room, “I’m capable. I’m strong. I’m doing my best.” 

Padmé slowly put herself back together. She wiped beneath her eyes where she knew some of yesterday’s makeup would have run, then let down her hair, combed her hands through it, and tied it back up. Padmé straightened her clothes and stroked her round stomach, whispering, “We’ll get through this, darling.” She placed the wet pillow back on the couch, dry side out. It would have to do.

_Okay_. Padmé pushed her residual sadness away and focused. Little steps. 

Firstly, she wanted to clean herself up. She felt hot and clammy and she’d been in these clothes since yesterday, so a shower and a change of clothes were in order. Then, a proper meal would be a good idea. Anakin had only had that toast, however long ago that was, Obi-Wan didn’t look like he’d had anything, and she was already peckish. That would give her a mission to follow for now. She could do that.  Padmé set out for the bedroom. 

After a beautifully long, hot shower and a thorough scrubbing, she threw on a fresh dress and headed for the kitchen.

One hour and multiple pep talks later, she had prepared a traditional Naboo dinner. Obi-Wan hadn’t moved from his seat at the table while she worked, and judging by the sounds, Anakin was still in the cockpit. Deep breaths, keep smiling. She had this.

She called Anakin in to where Obi-Wan sat at the table, and placed dinner beneath their noses. 

“Everyone was looking hungry so I thought we could have dinner together,” Padmé said and sat down between the two.

“Thank you, Padmé,” Anakin said, a gentle smile on his lips. “It looks lovely.”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan agreed absently. 

Hm.

Anakin happily tucked into the meal (she’d expected as much, Padmé knew he enjoyed the dish as much as she did), digging into the meat and vegetables with gusto. He kept sending hopeful, tiny smiles at her whenever he caught her eye as they ate. Gods, he was gorgeous, but there was no way he was getting of at all easily for any of this. If there was one thing she was certain of after having some time to think, was that he was going to kriffing well beg for forgiveness by the time Padmé had her way.

She watched as dinner progressed that Obi-Wan only picked at his food. He was mainly sliding it around the plate, occasionally lifting a small portion to his lips, before reluctantly eating it. Watching him, she felt a dark suspicion cross her mind.

“Obi-Wan, when was the last time you ate?” Padmé asked quietly across the table.

“I—I’m not…” he trailed off.

Anakin looked up from his plate at the silence.

“Obi-Wan?” Padmé prompted again.

“I suppose a week ago,” he mumbled, and his eyes dropped to his plate.

“What?!” Anakin burst out.

“Oh.” She was unhappy that her theory was looking as though it may be right, and tapped her hand on Anakin’s, trying to indicate he should settle down. “And you last slept…?”

“Last night.”

“Before that,” she clarified. Padmé felt guilty for pulling this up in front of Anakin, but he needed to know what they were dealing with as well. Anakin needed to know he wasn’t the only one falling apart here. 

She had a terrible inkling that Obi-Wan had fallen headfirst into a well of depression with a few suicidal tendencies. In all honesty she couldn’t say that she hadn’t seen something like this coming knowing what both men had dealt with during the war.

That Anakin had fallen into the Dark Side was not the reaction she had seen coming, but again, there was a tiny corner of her that was not completely surprised. Anakin though, seemed the more stable of the two of them just at the moment. Padmé vaguely wondered whether the extreme venting of anger and fear had somewhat purged it from his system. Cross that bridge etc. etc. _One problem at a time_ , she reminded herself.

Obi-Wan sighed. “A few days, I think.”

“ _Obi-Wan,_ ” Padmé chastised gently.

Anakin couldn’t hold himself in check any longer, voice cracking out, “Why would you do that to yourself?”

“I didn’t think it would matter,” Obi-Wan admitted quietly, shrugging. “I wasn’t expecting to live past Mustafar.”

It felt like someone had punched her in the gut and all the air had fled her lungs. Knowing that he had intended to die for her and having it presented to her was apparently a completely different thing.

“Obi-Wan,” Padmé said quietly, reaching her hand across the table and placing it on his. 

The reaction was immediate. Obi-Wan’s hand jolted away from the contact, hiding beneath his robes. He stood abruptly, saying, “I have to go,” and darted out of the room.

Padmé rubbed her hand over her eyes. That could have gone better. She glanced at Anakin who had gone very pale, staring at the place where Obi-Wan had been sitting.

“I don’t understand,” Anakin said into the empty space, voice unsure.

“Obi-Wan… isn’t coping,” Padmé started. “You’ve been at war for 3 years, Anakin. I’m surprised one of you hadn’t crashed before now.

“Battle fatigue?” 

She nodded, appetite gone. “Or something similar. Now, if you could clean up dinner, I’m going to talk to him.”

He huffed. “Don’t you think I should…?”

“No,” Padmé said firmly. “Given the last week, I don’t think you are going to be the best thing for him right now.” She saw him flinch. “Sorry, Ani. Not yet.”

He nodded jerkily and set about cleaning up. Padmé left the room, heart heavy in her chest.

She entered the lounge and moved to kneel in front of where Obi-Wan sat, head cupped in his hands, elbows on his knees. The brown of his robes contrasting with the rich reds of the room. He’d curled up against the legs of the couch, not even bothering to sit on the cushions, just tucked up on the floor. Padmé placed a gentle hand on his knee.

“I couldn’t sleep without watching Anakin kill you,” he began after moments of silence, still huddled up. “The visions would hit at night, sometimes during the day, there was no escape—I can’t keep food down. Force, just thinking about it makes me feel ill.”

She stroked her thumb over his knee, listening.

“Everything was so hopeless. The war just kept going with no end in sight, constantly on the back foot and a step behind the enemy. I knew Anakin would turn, I kept seeing it, and I kept trying to help him but nothing worked. I only ever saw that one encounter. Only Mustafar. I didn’t know what came before…” His voice caught and his fingers tightened minutely. “And finally I thought that maybe I could take your place, let him kill me and keep you safe, to give you an opportunity to help him where I _know_ I couldn’t.”

Padmé slid her hand up his arm and stroked soothingly, allowing him to talk.

“I just wanted everything to be okay, but now all the Jedi are dead, something I hadn’t seen coming.” Obi-Wan was breathless and trembling beneath her fingers. “We saved Anakin, but I failed to save everyone else.”

“Oh, Obi,” she hummed and moved to sit beside him, swinging an arm around him and pulling him in as much as she could for a hug, still moving her hand up and down his arm.

“It _hurts,_ Padmé. I can feel their deaths in the Force. I just want it to _stop_.” His breath hitched. “I want it to be over.”

“You can’t save everyone,” Padmé said quietly. “And you need to be eating.” She was not going to let him kill himself this way. Padmé was going to pull them both through this whether they liked it or not.

“I know,” he said.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” she tried.

Obi-Wan shook his head, finally looking at her, his eyes surprisingly dry, and tapped a forefinger against the side of his head. “Not with this.”

Padmé sighed. “Okay. Is there anything you would like to eat? That you think you could keep down?” 

“Bread, or milk, perhaps?” He looked strained, but trying. 

She’d take it.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of not eating and an inability to keep food down.


	3. Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Huzzah! It is time to go see how Obi-Wan is doing. 
> 
> Again, school going back is crazy hectic, but I will hopefully be able to stick to this weekly schedule I seem to have slipped into, but pretty sure there's a whole lot of marking in my future this week, so we shall see. Really glad you are all enjoying this so far, and as usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Through sheer determination and a desire for Padmé to stop staring at him like he was a wounded loth-cat, Obi-Wan managed to keep down the bread and bantha milk that she had brought him. 

Padmé had sat beside him on the floor while he slowly ate, her small hand resting only centimetres from where his leg was splayed out before him. Padmé had said nothing, just sat there and stared out the view-screen, providing the only kind of comfort Obi-Wan felt he could accept right now.

The food had settled uncomfortably in his stomach, heavy and churning. Obi-Wan had needed something different to focus on, anything but the galaxy at large and Padmé was a welcome distraction. Her delicate face was lit by the stars and the lamp beside the couch. Padmé’s long, curly hair fell loose over her shoulders. She always cut such a stunning figure, and Obi-Wan could very clearly see how Anakin had fallen head over heels for such a beautiful woman with such a kind heart and sharp intelligence. He could feel her soft Force presence beside him, gentle and constant, wrapped tightly around the two shining, tightly woven signatures within her. Both were beacons of hope in a very dark and empty galaxy, and already they shone so brilliantly. Obi-Wan wanted to wrap himself around Padmé and bask in their combined glow and protect all three of them from everything. 

Instead they both sat, side by side, partners in quiet grief and contemplation.

“I’ll be back,” Padmé said suddenly, turning to Obi-Wan a soft smile on her lips. “A certain someone is attempting to smother my bladder.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Of course.”

He held out his hand and helped Padmé push herself upright before she walked out of the room, the light fading with her.

Obi-Wan returned to staring out the window, the couch at his back warm and soft.

He wondered what would come next. He wondered where they were going. He wondered if any of them could ever hope to fix everything that had been broken over the last few days… weeks… years.

Anakin had seemed fine at dinner, his eyes no longer the bright corrupted yellow of the Sith, no longer burning himself up from the inside. There was something simmering beneath the surface, Obi-Wan knew, but it was more like the Anakin they were all used to. 

“Obi-Wan?” He looked up to see Anakin standing in the doorway to the lounge. 

Anakin was wrapped up in a deep purple robe and black pants that he must have had stashed in the Senator’s wardrobe. It was a more relaxing visual for him. Obi-Wan was still reeling from everything that had and hadn't transpired on Mustafar, and he had to admit, as much as he seemed to have settled, Anakin made him decidedly nervous. It felt awful to be afraid of someone he loved, someone he had partly raised, someone he had trusted with his life for years. It was somehow even worse knowing that in a battle, Obi-Wan would be the victor. He had no real reason to fear his former Padawan, and yet the feeling lingered.

“Yes, Anakin?” he replied.

Anakin came into the room, pausing in front of Obi-Wan and gestured to the space to the left of him where Padmé had been sitting. “May I?”

There was no way Anakin had missed Obi-Wan’s faint twitch at the gesture, but said, “Of course.”

Instead of sitting beside him, Anakin knelt on the ground in front of him a good metre away. 

Anakin took a deep breath, fingers pulling at the hem of his shirt. “I wanted to ask if you wanted help.”

Obi-Wan blinked. “With what?”

“Your head,” Anakin clarified. “Your shields are a wreck. I thought you might like help putting them back up?”

Obi-Wan hummed, swallowing back down his sharp response that feeling the deaths of thousands of Jedi while your shields were down would do that to you.  He had been _trying_ to build his shields back up, but it had not been working by any definition of the word. However, Obi-Wan wasn’t sure how he felt about Anakin in his head. 

No, that was a lie, he felt exceptionally uncomfortable about it.

“Master?”

Obi-Wan felt his whole body recoil. “Don’t call me that.” He wasn’t his master. In so many ways. Anakin had discarded him and chosen the Sith Lord. Chosen _Sidious._

Anakin just frowned at him.

Obi-Wan sighed. “While the assistance would be appreciated, in all honesty, Anakin, I don’t want to see what’s inside your head.”

As he spoke, Obi-Wan heard the telltale steps of Padmé reentering the room before she moved to sit on the floor, creating a triangle between the three of them. She sat silently; not interfering, just watching. Obi-Wan knew she was the sanest of the three of them at the moment, and in his opinion, having her monitoring them was not the worst idea.

Obi-Wan could feel himself constantly flipping back and forth emotionally between wanting to yell at them, wanting to punch Anakin, and wanting to curl up and cry until it all just went away. He was playing a game of emotional roulette.

“Why not? You already know the worst of what I did,” Anakin said sulkily.

Obi-Wan clenched his jaw, glaring his ex-Padawan down. “Knowing you killed younglings, and watching you do it, are two completely different things!” Evidently yelling was winning.

Anakin recoiled. “What do you mean?”

Obi-Wan pulled in on himself, but refused to look away from Anakin. Padmé’s eyes filled with tears, though she remained quiet.

“I—I don’t remember that. I wouldn’t do that!” Anakin looked between Obi-Wan and Padmé, turning a faintly sick colour.

Obi-Wan swallowed. “I saw the security footage, Anakin.”

“I never went back to the temple!” he protested loudly, bordering on hysterical, “I would _never_ do that! How could _either of you think that_?!”

“It was you on the security feeds.” Obi-Wan pressed.

“You came to see me, after the Temple was attacked,” Padmé added quietly, tears collecting in her eyes. “You said the Jedi had tried to overthrow the Republic.”

Force, to have to think that the father of your children had killed younglings.

“No. No! Look in my mind, Obi-Wan, I never went back to the temple! I didn’t return to Padmé, I went straight to Mustafar! Why would I ever—!?” Anakin was vibrating with tension. “I— I know it was my fault that Master Windu died, and I definitely killed the Separatist leaders, but I _swear_ I never went back to the Temple! Obi-Wan, please! I don’t know—”

He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, so he gestured Anakin over to him. Anakin crawled across the distance until he was kneeling between Obi-Wan’s splayed legs, still tense and quivering. Obi-Wan had never been so glad to be staring into blue eyes, the hue helping to soothe his fears. 

Obi-Wan’s hands shook when he took Anakin’s in his own and said, “Show me the whole day.” 

Anakin nodded, and closed his eyes.

Obi-Wan felt his Force presence slide up against his own, hesitant and jittery. Obi-Wan let out a deep breath, but kept his eyes open, desperate to see the blue light in Anakin’s eyes. He let their signatures meld together, allowing Anakin to lead and walk him through the memories of his day.

~ ~ ~

_Obi-Wan watched himself leave for Utapau. His robes fluttering in the breeze, feeling the pang of worry Anakin had felt watching him leave, feeling so strongly that he should be going with Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan could already see the dark circles under his own eyes._

_He saw Anakin go to visit Padmé in her apartment. Feeling lost, feeling doubt, and floundering to find solid ground beneath his feet with Padmé trying to reach him, a far off raft in a stormy sea. Anakin pledged that he had found a way to save her, the beginnings of a realisation forming in the back of his mind._

_He saw Anakin return to the Temple and listen to Cody deliver his message to Mace, Ki-Adi, Yoda, and Aayla. Anakin’s worry for Obi-Wan increasing, adding to the tight coil growing in his chest. Anakin hoped he was unhurt after his fight with Grievous, knowing how often Obi-Wan would hide his injuries without someone to make Obi-Wan look after himself. Mace sent Anakin to tell the Chancellor that Grievous had been neutralised._

_He saw Anakin arrive at Chancellor Palpatine’s offices, watched as Palpatine manipulated Anakin, compounding his distrust of the Jedi and his fear for Padmé’s life. Carefully watering seeds he’d planted in Anakin’s mind long ago._

_He saw as Anakin realised the truth of Palpatine’s identity. The sharp shock that the man he’d looked up to for so long wasn’t as he appeared, feeding more confusion and fear into him. Obi-Wan could barely breathe for all the emotions pouring forth in Anakin’s memories._

_He saw Anakin pull his lightsaber on Palpatine, holding it up to his neck: conflicted, confused, lost. Obi-Wan heard more of the insidious whisperings and promises from Palpatine before Anakin made the decision to turn the Chancellor over to Jedi._

_He saw Anakin go to Mace, confess what he had just discovered, and watched Mace do his best to keep Anakin away from the Sith. The Korun never had any skill in dealing with Anakin._

_He saw Anakin left behind, sitting in council chambers lost in his own head. Palpatine was the Sith, he deserved what was coming to him. Palpatine was his only hope for saving Padmé. Those two thoughts consuming his mind. The Jedi or Padmé? Anakin knew deep down that he would always choose Padmé and felt bone-crushing sadness and regret as he stared out the window to Coruscant. He desperately hated everything about this situation, but he had made his decision._

_He saw Anakin run into the Chancellor’s office to find Mace standing over Palpatine, ‘saber drawn and held pointed at the Chancellor’s chest. Palpatine tried fighting back, lightning exploding from his fingertips, before Mace drove the lightning back toward him with his lightsaber._

_He saw the true face of the Sith they had been hunting for so long. Watched him melt and transform to the monster Obi-Wan had seen on the news-feeds after Utapau. Face sunken and wrinkled with bright, glowing eyes. A true Sith Lord straight from a crèche-tale._

_He saw Anakin plead with Mace to do the right thing, to allow Palpatine to go to trial, but Mace chose otherwise. Acting on fear and instinct and lost in his own head, Anakin reflexively disarmed Master Windu, and watched in horror as the seemingly sick and defeated Palpatine rose up, lightening sparking from his hands, and drove Mace over the edge of the destroyed window._

_He saw Anakin fall._

~ ~ ~

Obi-Wan couldn’t stop the tears that cascaded down his face, still staring straight into blue. He could feel the pain and fear and doubt coursing through Anakin, as he saw joining the Sith his only way forward. He felt sharp, hot hatred burn through him at Palpatine. How he had orchestrated it all so perfectly, manipulating all of them towards their own destruction.

How could Obi-Wan have failed him so badly? He’d thought Anakin had know how much they all cared for him. He’d thought that Anakin was so _good_ deep down, even with his outbursts of anger and the poor choices he sometimes made. Obi-Wan had thought he’d done his best. He was clearly wrong. He’d done what Qui-Gon had asked. That and more, coming to love his Padawan so terribly. Obi-Wan wanted to grab a hold of Anakin and never let him go. Wrap him up in his arms, and keep him and Padmé safe from Sidious and all the other shit the universe had ever thrown at them.

The memories took on an unusual, cold tilt. A slightly slick feeling. A strange grey hue.

~ ~ ~

_He saw Palpatine command him to go to th——————— and kil————————, then to Mustafar and kill the Separatists. The Sith’s bright eyes boring into Anakin’s, a dark feeling curling tightly around him._

_The memories fragmented. A blaze of light. A scream. A flash of Padmé’s face. The slick, cold, dark feeling melting through each moment, feeling strange and decidedly wrong. Obi-Wan could feel how Anakin’s mind slipped over these, refusing to acknowledge them._

_Suddenly, he saw Anakin leave Coruscant to Mustafar, taking one of the Chancellor’s ships, mind unnervingly fixed on his instructions. The slick feeling still there, but lessened now, like a cold hand resting on your shoulder. Obi-Wan could feel the fire inside Anakin burning, hot and steady._

_He saw Anakin enter the Separatist base and kill every last one of them. Fast. Efficient. Merciless._

_He saw Anakin watch as Padmé’s ship landed in the bay. Felt Anakin’s joy at feeling his wife’s Force presence. Felt his anger toward Obi-Wan, the desire to destroy him pushed to the fore of his mind, the cold presence still resting on his shoulder._

_He saw from Anakin’s eyes as Obi-Wan knelt at his feet, lightsaber pressed against his chest—_

_~ ~ ~_

Obi-Wan wrenched away from Anakin, mentally and physically, hands cradled against his chest, balled into fists, his back pressed hard against the couch. He didn’t want to know what Anakin had thought of him in that moment. Didn’t want to have to see how pathetic it was.

After a few moments he was able to calm down, wiping the last of his tears from his face, and managed a quiet, “I’m sorry.”

Anakin was still just sitting in front of him, hands folded in his lap and watching Obi-Wan quietly.

“You really do love me,” Anakin said finally, disbelieving.

“I — What?” Obi-Wan didn’t follow. 

“On Mustafar,” Anakin continued breathlessly, “you said you loved me. I wasn’t sure how true that was.” Anakin’s fingers fiddled with the edge of his shirt. “Your head is a wreck, Obi-Wan, but I could feel how much you love Padmé and I. How badly you want to keep us happy and safe. I’d never noticed before. I always thought you were the model, emotionless Jedi you always to professed to be.”

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together. “Well, nobody’s perfect.”

Anakin rolled his eyes and frowned. “It’s not a _bad thing_ , Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t think of how to reply to that.

After a beat, Anakin seemed realise he wasn’t going to respond and glanced back over to Padmé.

“Oh,” Anakin breathed out softly. “Darling?”

Obi-Wan turned and found Padmé staring at him, wide eyed and blotchy skinned. Her eyes boring into his soul, looking at him as though he held the universe in his hands. 

Obi-Wan supposed he held her universe.

He gave her a weak smile. “It wasn’t Anakin.”

“Oh thank the Gods,” Padmé let out in a rush, curling forward as much as she could, and placed her left hand on Anakin’s knee, the other holding her up. Padmé’s fingers curled around the fabric of Anakin’s pants tightly, her fingers shaking along with the rest of her, head bent toward the carpet. Obi-Wan could feel the _agony-relief-fear-love-anger_ radiating off of her in waves, and could see the droplets that landed on the carpet between the three of them.

After a moment of shock from Anakin, Obi-Wan watched as he tentatively slid his hand over Padmé’s hand, softly curling his fingers around hers.

Obi-Wan looked away. 

It had been Anakin. At least, Anakin had been at the Temple, even though his mind refused to acknowledge it. The fragments of the memories had been there, but not all of them. Not anywhere near enough. The attack would have taken hours. Those memories weren’t there, but _something else_ had been. Obi-Wan had a terrible feeling he knew what that something else was.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan returned his focus to the others in the room. Padmé was sitting up again, slightly closer than before, her hand still griping tightly to Anakin’s leg, knuckles white.

“Yes?” Obi-Wan replied.

“Did you still not want help with your shields?” 

Obi-Wan paused. The worst of what was going on inside Anakin had already been laid bare to him. Continuing to live with his shielding so shattered, feeling everything, all the time, was exhausting and ripping him apart from the inside.

“Help would be… appreciated,” Obi-Wan decided.

“Now, or in the morning?” Anakin asked. “I think it’s going to take a while.”

Obi-Wan looked to Padmé who looked completely wrecked. “The morning.” He decided.

Anakin nodded.

Catching his eye, Padmé protested, “Don’t put it off because of me.”

“I need a break anyway,” Obi-Wan said quietly and hauled himself up onto the couch. 

The pair of them attempted to get Obi-Wan to sleep somewhere else, indicating that he was welcome to share their bed again, but Obi-Wan refused. He wrapped himself up in his ashy cloak, curled up on the couch, and watched the stars fly past.

He didn’t sleep.

* * *

When Padmé came to see him in the morning, she frowned at him knowingly, but only said, “I brought you some breakfast,” and placed one of the plates she was holding on his lap. 

Two pieces of toast with butter. Obi-Wan was thankful she had stuck with plain foods and not asked how he had slept. In return, he didn’t mention how tired Padmé looked. Obi-Wan suspected she hadn’t slept either.

She sat beside him, the long blue sleeping robe she wore spread out like a flower around her. The pair of them ate in silence.

“Anakin still asleep?” Obi-Wan asked quietly when he’d finished the first slice.

Padmé nodded. “Completely dead to the world.”

“Are you okay?” Obi-Wan asked.

Padmé paused and then sighed. “I really don’t know. I still love him, but I’m so very angry at him. I don’t know where to begin to make this better.”

Obi-Wan let out a small laugh. “I know that feeling.”

She smiled at him. “I figure we take it step by step. Just make it through this flight, then work what to do when we make it to Tatooine.”

“We’re going to Tatooine?” That answered one question. “Why?”

“Anakin thinks Palpatine won’t think to look for him there, considering how much Anakin hates the planet,” Padmé explained. “Evidently Anakin told Palpatine about what happened last time we were there."

Obi-Wan frowned. “What, before Geonosis? What happened last time?”

Padmé’s head whipped around, her eyes wide. “Anakin didn’t tell you?”

Obi-Wan felt cold tension curl in his stomach. “No.”

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Padmé declared. “Right. I’m telling you then. Anakin had his chance for three years. We are having no more secrets in this house.”

Obi-Wan felt a chill cover him as Padmé related the events to him. He could barely breathe, listening to her retelling of Anakin’s attack on the Tuscan villagers over his mother’s death. Force, he should have known. Anakin had been jumpy for weeks after Geonosis, but Obi-Wan had chalked it up to the new war and his ‘secret’ relationship with Padmé.

Anakin stormed into the room as she finished up her retelling. 

“What are you doing?” Anakin yelled.

Padmé glared up at him. “Doing what I told you to do _three years ago_ , Ani!”

“You have no right!”

Padmé stood, stepping into his personal space. “I have _every right!_ There have been too many secrets between the three of us, and look where it’s gotten us!”

Obi-Wan watched as Anakin clenched his hands by his side, and the lamp sitting on the side table shattered suddenly.

“Right!” Padmé’s head swivelled to take in the damage. “I’m not talking to you while you’re like this.” She stalked out of the room, her head held high.

Anakin scoffed after her, turning on Obi-Wan. “Can you believe that!? She had no right to tell you!” Obi-Wan made to open his mouth and protest, but Anakin continued, uninterested, begining to pace in front of the glass. “That was _my business—_ my _mother_! How dare she just decide to tell you whatever the fuck she wants! I told her that in confidence! I chose not to tell you, that was _my choice_! You would have hated me! You would have told the Council—”

Obi-Wan could feel the hot rage rolling off of Anakin in waves, battering at his unshielded mind and burning it’s way across the remnants of their bond. Anakin seemed to have completely forgotten he was actually there in the room with him, ranting senselessly about it. Sith hells it hurt. Anakin was so bright and powerful, the heated anger felt as though it was burning through Obi-Wan’s skin.

Obi-Wan dropped back to lying on the couch, a pained groan escaping his lips, eyes squeezing shut in an attempt to block out the heat.

It was gone in an instant and a hand hesitantly touched his face.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked, voice panicked.

Obi-Wan let out a relieved breath, his whole body relaxing as he opened his eyes. Anakin was knelt over him, all anger seemingly gone or at least shoved behind shields. 

“I’m so sorry,” Anakin said, eyes wide and concerned. “I got carried away. I forgot.”

Obi-Wan just blinked up at him. Anakin was terribly pretty from this angle.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin was back to sounding worried. 

“I’m okay,” Obi-Wan said finally.

Anakin frowned down at him. “We should fix your shielding now.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “That’s probably a good idea.”

He moved to sit up, but Anakin held his hand to Obi-Wan’s chest. “It could take a while, you may as well lie down.”

Obi-Wan returned to lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He watched Anakin move so he was sitting beside him on the edge of the couch and leant over Obi-Wan. He pushed all thoughts of how attractive Anakin was completely out of his head. He needed to focus.

“Ready?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes.” It was a blatant lie, but this needed to be done.

He closed his eyes and felt Anakin’s Force signature brush up against his own again, much calmer than yesterday. They set to work, Obi-Wan leading, attempting to erect shielding how he wanted it, before being bolstered by Anakin, his power sliding through Obi-Wan. It felt warm. Not burning as it had earlier, but comforting, like stepping into a warm bath or climbing back into a bed you’d only just left. Anakin soothed over the painful areas in his mind; the places where he’d felt weak bonds snap as Jedi had died. Obi-Wan felt his eyes fall shut as his mind slowly quieted, lost in Anakin’s surprisingly soothing presence. 

It took a long time, that much Obi-Wan could tell. Individually pulling up each layer and section of shielding, restoring to how it was before this all began, and adding a few new areas as well. Obi-Wan never wanted to feel like that again.

Once they were finished, Anakin sent him an extra surge of healing energy and they gently tested the walls. Anakin poking about in his head, prodding here and there. Satisfied, Anakin started pulling back, taking his warmth with him.

Reflexively, Obi-Wan’s mind latched onto him, attempting to stop his retreat. For the first time in weeks he didn’t feel like he was cracked around the edges, ready to fall apart at the slightest touch. He didn’t want to let this go. He knew he had to.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked quietly, voice much closer to him.

“Sorry, I know,” Obi-Wan replied. “Give me a moment.”

Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan carefully unhooked himself from Anakin, reluctantly letting him go. Slowly and unwillingly, Obi-Wan was alone in his own head again. 

Force, it felt infinitely better. Obi-Wan couldn’t feel _everything_ around him anymore. He couldn’t feel the gaps in the Force as strongly as he had before. Obi-Wan didn’t feel like he was losing parts of himself to the void.

“Oh,” Anakin murmured, surprised, “our bond is back.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes blinked open suddenly. Anakin was now lying beside him on the couch, pressed up against Obi-Wan. When had that happened? 

Turning his focus inward he realised Anakin was right. Their old bond _was_ back, the luminous strand connecting his former Padawan to him. He could faintly feel Anakin’s confusion at the realisation. 

“Apologies. That was probably me,” Obi-Wan admitted. “I shouldn’t have held on so tightly.”

Anakin leant up to look at Obi-Wan. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad it’s back.”

Obi-Wan closed his eyes feeling like he could sleep for the first time in weeks. He breathed out, “Me too. Thank you, Anakin,” and dropped into welcome unconsciousness. 


	4. Reflection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, school is fucking killing me, 8 classes and 250 new students is too fucking many for one person. It is a miracle that this chapter exists this week (I struggled with this one, and it's a bit of a filler chapter in my opinion, but we gotta get this ball rolling somehow!). 
> 
> We have made it back to Anakin, my beautiful son and disaster of the year 2kforever, let us marvel as he continues to not manage his emotions at all! As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Anakin blinked at Obi-Wan. Had he just—? A gentle snore escaped Obi-Wan’s lips and Anakin smiled widely. He had completely passed out. Anakin stared down at him and gently ran his fingers through Obi-Wan’s auburn hair, focusing on how soft it felt against the pads of his fingers. Obi-Wan looked almost calm in slumber; the lines around his eyes had relaxed, and his mouth was gently resting open. In Anakin’s opinion, he hadn’t looked this relaxed since the beginning of the war.

Anakin had been so frustrated and angry at Obi-Wan. He had been horrified to hear that Obi-Wan and been neglecting his health so badly over the last few weeks and furious at himself for not noticing it, being too wrapped up in himself to pick up on Obi-Wan falling to pieces beside him. The bottom of his stomach had dropped into his feet when Padmé had confronted Obi-Wan about it over dinner. Anakin had wanted to yell at him, then shove him into bed, wrap him up in blankets and keep Obi-Wan there until he was better. 

He’d listened to Padmé though. Anakin could see how he unnerved Obi-Wan, how his old friend would recoil from him, often not quite looking at him if he could help it. It hurt each time it happened, a tight, sharp pain in his chest at the knowledge that Obi-Wan was afraid of him. 

And yet Obi-Wan still—miraculously, wonderfully—loved him fiercely. He’d felt it when he’d shown Obi-Wan what had happened the day he’d fallen. He’d felt it in the bright, welcoming sensation in Obi-Wan’s mind as Anakin had helped pull his shielding back up. He’d felt it in the moment that Obi-Wan refused to let go of him, his mind latching on tightly to Anakin, a spike of fear and loneliness shooting into Anakin’s head. It had taken all of Anakin’s willpower not to latch onto Obi-Wan’s mind as well. Or to lean down and kiss him. That… that had certainly crossed his mind with Obi-Wan lain prone beside him, warm and contented. To be perfectly fair though, he considered, that was not exactly a new impulse. Either way, considering their bond was back, Anakin suspected he hadn’t been as successful as he’d initially thought at resisting holding on to Obi-Wan.

Anakin could distantly feel Obi-Wan now, calm and placid as a clear ocean, not the cold and tumultuous stormy sea Anakin had been able to feel for the past few days. Anakin had no idea how Obi-Wan had been living like that since the Republic fell. Just being in his mind had been like rubbing his hand against a cheese grater.

When Obi-Wan had keeled over on the couch during his tirade about Padmé, Anakin’s heart had just about stopped in his chest. He hadn’t realised that he’d let his shields slip, drowning the room in white-hot frustration and anger. Suddenly hearing Obi-Wan’s pained cry had stopped him short, slamming his shielding up. All his anger quickly dissipated to be replaced with frantic worry, his heart pounding against his ribs. For a brief moment, Anakin was certain he had mentally shattered his friend. Obi-Wan had initially been unresponsive to him and just stared vacantly at Anakin for a good minute or so while Anakin had internally panicked. He’d come around eventually, but it was a tense few minutes.

He needed to fix all of this. He needed to get himself under control. He couldn’t keep hurting those he loved.

Anakin could still feel his own mess of emotions twisting around him, alternating hot and cold, and constantly expanding and contracting in his chest. He was still furious at himself. He felt regret at his actions and what his actions had allowed to happen. He was terrified of what the future held.

He should go apologise to Padmé. She was _right_. Anakin should have told Obi-Wan about Tatooine years ago and Padmé didn’t deserve his anger. Anakin was confused as to where that burning fury had come from. Sure, he’d been mad that Padmé had decided to tell Obi-Wan without asking him, but somehow it had been dialled up to eleven and had just erupted out of him.

He had to do _better._

Anakin knew that this was a miraculous second chance. He had Padmé and Obi-Wan doing their best to protect him, when they themselves could barely even look at him. They had thrown everything away to keep Anakin from Sidious—

He didn’t want to think about _him_.

Anakin was about to become a father, he _had to do better._

Anakin tucked himself closer to Obi-Wan, resting his head on the couch, his face pressed into Obi-Wan’s neck. He was warm beside Anakin, his soothing presence running along the newly recreated bond. Anakin took a deep breath in, attempting, for the first time in what felt like years, to meditate.

Anakin lowered himself down, carefully turning over his thoughts and putting them away. Slowly, his mind settled, warm and comforted in Obi-Wan’s embrace. Anakin absently observed that Obi-Wan still smelt distinctly ashy. A quiet thought noted to organise clean clothes for him. 

Anakin’s mind worked its way back into calm and reflection.

It felt good to let it all stop for for a time. 

* * *

“Ani?” Padmé’s voice broke through his quiet.

Anakin sat up, carefully separating himself from where Obi-Wan lay.

“Is everything alright?” Padmé asked, her eyes flicking between himself and Obi-Wan.

Anakin glanced down. “He’s sleeping. We fixed his shields.”

Padmé visibly deflated. “Oh thank goodness.”

Anakin stood up and moved toward Padmé, who immediately stiffened again. Anakin’s heart sank but he pressed onwards. He could do this. “Padmé,” Anakin spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb Obi-Wan. “I’m sorry about earlier. You were right, I should have told Obi-Wan about Tatooine. I didn’t mean to take that out on you.”

A pause.

“Alright. Thank you,” Padmé replied finally, a ghost of a smile at her lips. “Could you clean up the lamp you broke?”

Anakin grimaced. “Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to break it either.”

_“_ Try to be more careful in the future, Ani,” Padmé said. “Some things are less easily fixed.”

Didn’t Anakin know it. 

He nodded and exited the room to find a bag to dispose of the lamp fragments. Anakin moved quickly; carefully picking up all the pieces, tucking the wiring away for his own purposes, and throwing out the rest. Obi-Wan slept through the entire scene, not moving once, even when Anakin had draped a thick, grey blanket over him.

* * *

Anakin kept Padmé company over the next four days as Obi-Wan slept through it all. Padmé had suggested he was finally catching up on all the sleep he had missed, and Anakin had agreed. He had been helping Padmé where he could—meal preparation, cleaning, checking the flightpath—until Anakin had stumbled into a closet looking for a broom, and found Threepio and Artoo deactivated in a corner.

“Oh!” Padmé said, poking her head in when he called her over. “I completely forgot I left them in there. I didn’t want either of them interfering on Mustafar. You know how they get.”

Anakin had laughed. “Very true.” He reactivated the pair of them.

What followed was a _tirade_ of binary from Artoo. _How dare he go without him, what had Anakin been thinking_ , etc. and an assortment of curses Anakin was sure he hadn’t taught the droid. Anakin had barely managed to hide his smile, amused by his indignant fury, before Artoo shot oil in his face and stormed off, whirring angrily.

Padmé was laughing hysterically, a spot or two of oil on her face as well, contrasting with the pink of her cheeks.

“Yeah, laugh it up,” Anakin groused wiping at his face.

Padmé just grinned at him. “You kind of deserved it. You hurt Artoo’s feelings!”

Anakin just huffed at her and suffered through a good thirty minutes of Threepio complaining at him, and then trying to properly clean the oil off his face, muttering about how uncouth Artoo was. Anakin had missed the pair of them. Even if they did both drive him up the wall at times.

From there, Threepio helped keep everything neat and tidy and Artoo continued to sulk, choosing to loiter in the cockpit and keep them on course. Now out of chores to do, Anakin often took to lying next to Obi-Wan and meditating. Padmé did something similar, often sitting beside Obi-Wan and just staring out the window. She would casually rest her hand on his shoulder or arm and just stop for a time. It twisted something deep in his chest, but he pushed it aside. 

Obi-Wan was still so warm and calm as he slept on, and it helped Anakin fall away into quiet and recenter himself when he meditated. He was finding that it aided with controlling himself. It didn’t always help though. He’d broken a door in frustration at one point, thoroughly melting the wiring so the door remained permanently half open. He'd also levitated everything in the kitchen by accident when he had been worrying about what to do once they hit Tatooine. Each time, Padmé had frowned but left it alone. Their conversations were stilted and awkward, both stepping around the major issues between them. Anakin felt off-kilter without Obi-Wan there with them, balancing them out.

Aside from meditation, Anakin had also decided to try to rebuild the lamp he had broken from the wiring he’d salvaged and some discarded head-dresses of Padmé’s that she’d said he could have. She’d started sorting through her clothes, deciding what she would keep, and what they would sell once they reached the desert planet.

Between the two of them, in short spurts of awkward conversation, they had decided to try and briefly stay with Anakin’s family, and then purchase a moisture farm out in the desert. Even on the off chance that the now Empire would come to Tatooine, they were unlikely to be checking out the remote farms.

It was a good plan, and they could scrap and sell Padmé’s ship for funds. On top of which, Padmé being the eminently well organised woman that she was, had taken a large portion of funds out of her emergency bank account back on Coruscant in a variety of currencies, so they at least had something to start with. Anakin had been surprised to learn that Padmé had been ready to run before she even knew the full truth of it all. It made him oddly proud. 

Even so, Anakin could feel the distance between them. Padmé barely ever let him touch her, always leaving a gap between them. The only time they ever touched was accidental. A brush of hands when they reached for the same thing, or a bump on the hip when they misjudged a doorway or forgot the other was there. Anakin had taken to faking sleep for an hour or so in the morning so he could rest a casual hand on her. He _wanted_ to gather her into his arms and hold her close. Stroke his hands over her skin and tell her and their child that it was all going to be okay. Press kisses all over her face, along her neck, down—there was no point in entertaining such a far off prospect. Anakin absently wondered where they would stand after the storm had passed. 

He could remember a time when they could barely keep their hands off of each other. The constant small touches of the newly-in-love, testing each other out, reassuring themselves that it was real, and basking in the warmth of another person. A time where Anakin couldn’t name a surface in their home that hadn’t been defiled by the two of them. And now here they were, revolving around each other like magnets of the same pole.

After all of this, Anakin desperately hoped Padmé still loved him.

* * *

On the final day, Artoo evidently decided he was done ignoring Anakin and trundled into the bedroom, whistling that they had arrived. Anakin had praised him and asked if Artoo could land them a short distance from the Lars residence. Artoo had whistled the affirmative, quickly rolling back to the cockpit.

“You wake Obi-Wan,” Padmé told him after they had fully landed. “I’ll go speak to Owen and see if they mind putting us up for a short time.”

“Yes dear,” Anakin agreed and set off to wake Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan was exactly as he’d left him. Securely wrapped up in the blanket Anakin had placed on him days ago, breathing softly.

“Obi-Wan.” Anakin took hold of Obi-Wan’s shoulder and gently jostled him.

It took a few tries, but eventually Obi-Wan came to, his blue-green eyes fluttering in the sudden light. It was good to see the colour again. There had been a small worry in the back of Anakin’s head that he wouldn’t wake up again; that he’d fucked up rebuilding Obi-Wan’s shields.

“Oh, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said groggily. “I— fell asleep?”

Anakin laughed. “A while ago. We’ve made it to Tatooine.”

Obi-Wan sat up at that, frowning. “That— it should have taken days!”

“It did,” Anakin admitted. “We left you to sleep; thought you needed it.”

“Oh,” Obi-Wan said.

“Come on, let’s get you some cleaned up.” Anakin pulled Obi-Wan up off the couch and took him to the bedroom. 

“Fresher?” Anakin asked, and Obi-Wan nodded, disappearing into the small bathroom.

Anakin ducked out to the kitchen and found some berries and a slice of bread in the bags Padmé and he had filled yesterday. He returned and waited patiently for Obi-Wan to return, absently eating one of the berries.

A short time later, Obi-Wan emerged and sat on the edge of the bed, wrapped securely in a towel, his damp hair smelling of Padmé’s floral shampoos. Anakin pressed the juna berries and bread into Obi-Wan’s hands, ignoring the twitch in his fingers, and looked at the pile of food pointedly. Anakin then entered the wardrobe searching for something Obi-Wan could wear.

“Where are we, specifically?” Obi-Wan asked, his voice raised. Anakin could only just hear it with his head shoved in the secret compartment behind the painting. Anakin reentered the room holding a pale blue tunic and dark blue trousers. He thought they would be the most likely of his clothes to fit Obi-Wan.

“We’re at my family’s place,” Anakin said. “Cliegg and Owen. My mom married into the Lars’ before she… died. We’re hopefully going to stay with them until we find somewhere permanent. Padmé has gone to talk with them now.”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan replied.

Anakin waited patiently for Obi-Wan to finish the food and Obi-Wan made the excellent decision not to argue with him about it. Anakin was going to make sure Obi-Wan was looking after himself.

“Force, I’m so tired,” Anakin said finally, handing the shirt and trousers he had chosen to Obi-Wan with one hand, his other rubbed at one of his eyes. Anakin had been sleeping, but it hadn’t felt restful, and having so many feelings rushing around him all the time, was exhausting. Obi-Wan took the items from him, their fingers brushing past one other within the fabric. 

Obi-Wan sighed. “It’s been a trying week.”

So true.

“I don’t know how either of you could ever forgive me,” Anakin murmured, feeling cold. It was a thought that had been bouncing around his head for days, ever since he’d felt the affection Obi-Wan held for him. How did either of them not hate him?

He was never going to escape what he’d done. It was like a noose hanging gently at his neck. Waiting.

“I’ve already forgiven you Anakin,” Obi-Wan said softly. “I’ve been in your head. I understand why you did it.”

_Anakin_ didn’t understand it. How Obi-Wan could just _forgive_ him for _any of it_. Obi-Wan _should_ hate him. Anakin had fucked up on a whole new level. 

He could barely get a breath in.

“How can you stand being here!? You flinch every time I move near you!” Anakin cried. “Why have you forgiven me!?” He paced around the bedroom. “I _fell!_ I _failed_ in _everything_ you ever taught me!”

“Because I _understand_!” Obi-Wan exclaimed.

“Ha!” Anakin laughed darkly. “You know _nothing_! You’ve never even come _close_ to the dark side. You’re so fucking _good!_ ”

Obi-Wan just stared at him, his eyes tight. “Closer than you think,” He stated, voice toneless, then bundled up the clothes Anakin had given him, and strode out of the room.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin called, but heard no response. “Fuck!” he exclaimed and fell backwards onto the bed. Force, why could he never just keep his kriffing mouth shut! He rubbed his hands over his face.

Anakin lay staring up at the ceiling, contemplating the particular shade of cream it was. It was better than reflecting on every fuck-up he’d ever committed.

After a number of minutes, Anakin heard footsteps returning to the room. He sat up and was surprised to see Obi-Wan standing there, now dressed. He looked good, the colour highlighting his eyes nicely. There was also a satisfying curl in Anakin’s stomach at Obi-Wan wearing his clothes which he pushed aside.

“Apologies,” Obi-Wan said. “I needed a moment.”

Anakin said nothing, not wanting to break this as well.

Obi-Wan sighed, and said, “Padmé said no secrets,” though he sounded like he was speaking more to himself than anyone else.

Anakin’s focused in on him, interested. Obi-Wan ran his hand through his hair, eyes quickly alternating between looking at Anakin and literally anywhere else. Anakin thought he looked decidedly nervous, but it was not a look he had seen on his Master very often, so he wasn’t entirely sure. He was about to ask him if he was okay when Obi-Wan started talking.

“When Qui-Gon died. I very nearly fell,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “I was angry at him, I was angry at Maul; I was terrified my Master was going to die, and that I’d be left alone in my grief.”

Anakin sat in stunned silence.

“I gave in to it briefly,” Obi-Wan admitted, “charging Maul with fury and abandon, but he ultimately defeated me that way, and pushed me into the melting pit. I was able to re-centre myself and remain clear headed to defeat him.” Obi-Wan sat down beside Anakin, eyes open and soft. “However, I do understand how easily it can happen; through fear and worry for those we love. I’m definitely still… upset about it all, but I forgive you. You did what you thought was best for Padmé.” Obi-Wan gave him a wry smile. “Even if it was the absolute worst way to go about it.”

Anakin let out an involuntary small huff of laughter.

Something in him felt a little lighter. The tight, clawed grip around his heart lessened just a little and Anakin found he could breath that tiny bit easier.

“Thank you, Obi-Wan,” Anakin replied quietly.

Anakin resisted the urge to smother Obi-Wan and instead extended his hand to wrap around Obi-Wan’s where it sat on the bed beside him. This time, Obi-Wan didn’t pull away at all and turned his hand palm up, curling his fingers around Anakin’s hand.

Human contact felt _amazing._

Anakin fell back against the bed, tightly gripping Obi-Wan and projecting contentment along their bond. Obi-Wan allowed Anakin to run off with his hand and turned, softly smiling down at Anakin. His entire body felt warm at that smile.

“Sorry boys, I got caught up talking to Beru,” Padmé called from the hallway. “Where—? Oh, there you are.” She appeared suddenly in the bedroom. “Come on, you two. Anakin, let him go, we have work to do.”

Anakin shot up off the bed, dragging Obi-Wan with him, following Padmé back out of the room. “Are we staying?”

“Owen said they can have us for two weeks at most, but yes, staying for now,” Padmé replied, heading up to the cockpit. “Artoo!” she called, “Turn all systems off and come out, we’re staying here! Threepio, come here and help me with this!”

There was an affirmative whistle from Artoo and everything in the ship around them switched off. “Gods, that droid is good,” Padmé said, proudly. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the warmth coming from the lowered ramp, her eyes bright with purpose. “Right, Anakin, grab the bags we packed from the wardrobe—”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Obi-Wan, if you could pick up the bags of leftover food and kitchenware? They’re just by the door to the kitchen—”

“Of course.”

“Threepio and I are going to go around and find all the little leftover bits,” Padmé explained. “Take all of the bags into the house, Beru or Owen will show you where to put them. Then if you could come back and pick up whatever I’ve grabbed?”

“Okay,” Anakin agreed, and Obi-Wan nodded.

Padmé shooed them away. 

Anakin went back into the bedroom and found the bags they had placed by the door of the wardrobe yesterday. They were filled with only the essentials and nothing that would make them stand out. He picked them up and exited the ship.

The farm looked as he remembered it. The dome poking out of the top of the ground like a half buried egg, with moisture collectors scattered around the flat land. Tatooine was still the same cool, red-orange he always associated with his home-planet. It was warm out in the light of the suns, and Anakin paused and turned his face up to the light, basking in the heat. It felt incredible after a week in a temperature controlled ship.

“Good to be home?” Obi-Wan asked, sliding up next to him, bags in hand.

Anakin shrugged, unsure how it felt about it. “I suppose.”

Obi-Wan nodded and they walked up to the Lars farmstead in silence. Owen welcomed them heartily, and ushered them down into the house and into an unused bedroom. It was a large, empty room. It boasted only a double bed at the centre of it and a chest of drawers to the side.

Owen explained it had been Cliegg’s room before he’d died. “He couldn’t bear the loss of Shmi,” Owen said, “then his leg became infected and we didn’t catch it fast enough. There wasn’t anything we could do. He was glad to be joining Shmi at any rate.” 

Anakin expressed his condolences, saddened at Cliegg’s death. In Anakin’s opinion, Cliegg had been a good man, freeing Shmi where Anakin could not and he had loved her like she deserved. Anakin could have asked nothing more of him. 

From there, they both returned to the ship and collected what Padmé had put aside; blankets, pillows, and another bag of miscellaneous items. The ship now emptied of what they wanted, the three of them exited down the ramp and returned to the farm.

Owen and Beru made them feel welcome and helped them unpack for a time, before they both had to return to the moisture collectors in the afternoon. Padmé seemed brighter and happier with a purpose, bustling around the room, organising and sorting their belongings. Obi-Wan seemed at a bit of a loss as to what he was doing, but helped where he could. Padmé kept shoving things into both of their arms and pointing them in a direction. 

With all of that done, Padmé decided she needed a nap, Obi-Wan disappeared, wanting to check the holo-net, and Anakin wandered aimlessly until he found himself outside.

He suddenly wanted to see his Mom.

Her grave stood exactly where he remembered it being, tall and proud above the flat horizon-line of the Tatooine landscape. He walked over slowly, drinking it in, feeling a familiar burst of sadness at the sight. Anakin trailed his robotic fingers over the top of the stone, occasionally catching on the rough surface.

“Hey Mom,” he murmured and knelt down in front of the stone, holding up his mechanical hand. “This is new, huh?” Anakin sat quietly in front of the stone and softly relayed the past few years to her. His wife. The war. His wayward Padawan. His unborn child. The friends he’d lost. The friends he’d made. The colossal fuck-up of the last week. “I’ve made so many wrong choices. I want to be a good parent. I want to be as good as you, I just don’t know what to do, Mom.”

Anakin didn’t receive and answer. He wasn’t surprised.

“Hey, Ani!"

Anakin’s head turned and found Owen striding towards him.

“I remember Shmi telling us how good you are with tech,” Owen explained, coming to stop by the grave, smiling. “She was always telling us about the incredible things you built. We have a few vaporators that aren’t working right, would you mind taking a look at them?”

Anakin blinked. “Of course.”

Owen showed him the vaporator parts, handed him a box of tools, sat him down at the kitchen table in the farmstead, and left Anakin to his own devices. This he could do. Three hours and seven working vaporator parts later, Anakin was incredibly pleased with himself. Beru had come in half-way through and marvelled at his work, turning over the fixed machinery and whistling softly. She’d promised him there were more things that needed fixing around the farm if he was interested. Anakin had agreed warmly. It felt amazing to have a purpose again.

Padmé had appeared towards the end, her hair mussed from her nap and wrapped in a plain green dress. She’d sat silently watching him work, her head resting on her hands and brown eyes watching his fingers deftly tinker with the tech. It felt normal.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Padmé asked when he placed the final vaporator segment down.

Anakin hummed thoughtfully. “The ship. We should find buyers in town for the parts and start scrapping it. Anything left unsold can stay here with Owen and Beru and they can sell it to the Jawas when they come through next?”

Padmé nodded. “Alright. I’m making dinner tonight, any requests?”

Anakin shook his head.

That night passed quickly, everyone crowded around the table for dinner, a plain, vegetable heavy dish that Padmé used to make all the time at home. Anakin had watched Obi-Wan closely and was pleased when he managed to eat most of the dinner Padmé had put in front of him. 

After dinner, they all returned to their rooms as the darkness of night loomed over them. It was cold when the heat of the suns left the sky, and he was glad Padmé had taken the duvet from the ship, happily curling up under it. Obi-Wan, refusing to share the bed with the two of them, made a nest of blankets on the ground and dropped off surprisingly quickly for someone who’d been sleeping for the past few days. Padmé curled up beside him and promptly fell asleep before Anakin followed soon after her, lulled to sleep by her breathing.


	5. Renewal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //screams incoherently about school for the next thousand years//
> 
> Anyway, here's an unusually long chapter where Padmé continues to solve the problems of the world because she's great. As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Padmé was up late that morning. 

She had been completely exhausted after yesterday. Having to reorganise one’s entire life was, unsurprisingly, very emotionally draining. Padmé had woken to find both Anakin and Obi-Wan gone. After basking in the warmth of the bed for a good while longer—a luxury she hadn’t allowed herself in some time—she decided to go see what her boys were up to. She pulled a lose dressing-gown over the top of her sleepwear and headed into the open space of the farmstead beneath the dome.

“Ani?” Padmé called.

“Kitchen!” came the reply.

She walked into the kitchen and found Anakin cooking at the stove, the front of his hair tied back into a small knot at the top of his head. “What are you making?”

“Porridge.”

“Lovely,” Padmé replied and sat down at the table. It did smell good; warm and slightly sweet with a few spices mixed in. “When I spoke to her yesterday, Beru said we could borrow the speeder today so we can get into Mos Eisley. I was thinking we should all go? I considered having you stay and start dismantling the ship, but you know the most about the things we want to buy, and you speak the language best of all of us. What do you think?”

Anakin was quiet for a moment. “I’ll come. You’re right, I know Tatooine best. Do you have all the specs for the ship?”

“They’re up in the bedroom. Want me to go get them?” Padmé asked and Anakin nodded.

She returned to the bedroom, dug the holoprojector from a bag and headed back to Anakin. Padmé sat back down at the table and held up the piece of tech. “It’s all on here.”

“May I?” Anakin moved closer and held out his hand. Padmé dropped the disk into his open palm.

He switched the holoprojector on and flicked through the images, pausing occasionally, then nodded. “Yeah, this’ll be perfect.” Anakin placed the disk on the table and slid it back across to her.

From there everyone else filtered into the kitchen for the morning meal, enjoying the food Anakin had prepared. It definitely tasted as good as it smelled. Anakin had never had much opportunity to cook for her, more often off-planet than on throughout the war. Obi-Wan had smiled at Anakin’s hairdo and then quietly ate breakfast, steadfastly ignoring the ways both Padmé and Anakin periodically checked on him.

Afterwards, Padmé and Obi-Wan volunteered to do the dishes, Beru dragging Anakin off to fix a pump that had been acting up.

Padmé decided to tackle him head on. “How are you doing with meals?” she asked softly, handing him a clean, wet bowl.

“Alright,” Obi-Wan admitted, hesitant. “I’m… struggling a bit today.”

“Okay,” Padmé acknowledged, and briefly leant her head on his shoulder. “Let me know if I can do anything for you.”

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together and nodded.

Padmé leant back on the counter once they had finished, addressing Obi-Wan. “Right. Did you want to find Anakin? We should head into the spaceport as early as possible and I need to change.” 

“Meet up top?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Sounds good,” Padmé confirmed. "Fifteen minutes?”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Assuming I can drag Anakin away from whatever tech Beru put him in front of.”

She grinned back at him. “Best of luck.” 

Padmé found a loose brown tunic and pants in her belongings which she slipped into before tying her hair back into a loose bun. Examining herself in the mirror she had discovered behind the door, Padmé felt she looked sufficiently average. Just another pregnant woman walking the streets of Mos Eisley with her two gentlemen suitors. She shook her head, smiling, and hoped none of the war holos had made it out this far. 

Now dressed Padmé stood at the entrance of the house waiting for Anakin and Obi-Wan, the dome of the house shining large and iridescent in the sun. She turned at the sound of movement and found Artoo and Threepio approaching her.

“Where have you two been?” Padmé asked them. 

“Master Owen directed us to the oil bath he has,” Threepio explained. “We both decided to take him up on the offer. It was exceptionally lovely.”

Padmé smiled. “That was very good of him. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and I are going into town today. You two stay here and keep Owen and Beru company. I think Beru had some things she’d like your help with, Threepio.”

“Of course, madam.” At that, Threepio vanished downstairs into the house, leaving Padmé alone with Artoo.

Artoo circled around her, beeping emphatically about how good the oil bath had been. He then quizzed her on what they were doing on Tatooine. As she relayed the events of the past week or so, Padmé mused that Artoo was possibly the most knowledgeable droid in the galaxy in matters of the Republic. The _Old_ Republic now, she supposed. Either way, Artoo was far to clever for his own good.

“Artoo!” Anakin called as he and Obi-Wan came up the stairs, his fingers dotted with oil, evidently having been out helping with the farm. “You keeping Padmé company? Where’d you disappear off to yesterday?” Both Anakin and Obi-Wan were dressed simply, with their loose Jedi cloaks thrown over the top. It would do.

Artoo beeped in the affirmative and then relayed his _thrilling_ tale of the oil bath with a few sounds Padmé couldn’t recognise. She’d picked up a lot from spending so much time with Artoo and Anakin, but she still wasn’t quite fluent.

Anakin laughed and patted the dome of Artoo’s shell. “That’s great buddy, but you better not be using that kind of language around my baby in the future.”

Artoo whistled something that sounded distinctly like an eye roll and trundled off after Threepio. The three of them watched Artoo go, Padmé muttering, “Some days, I think there’s too much personality in that small droid.”

“You’re one to talk,” Obi-Wan shot back, smiling at her.

Padmé laughed. “I walked into that one. Shall we go?”

The speeder sat waiting on the sands, its three turbines shining brightly in the sun, near blinding at certain angles. It still looked fairly new, scuffed in sections, and dinted in others, but in tact. It was a subtle orange and silver that fit well with the Tatooine landscape.

“I got directions off Owen. Can I drive?” Anakin asked, eyeing it up.

Padmé tossed him the keys. “I’m going to sit in the back. This weather is killing me and I want to put my feet up.”

It was mostly true. Her ankles had been particularly swollen this morning, likely from the warmth of Tatooine and the fact she was weeks away from birth—a terrifying thought. However, Obi-Wan was still looking faintly ill, and letting him sit in the back with Anakin driving was a recipe for disaster.

Anakin grinned down at the keys in his hand and jumped into the speeder, immediately fiddling with all the settings and dials. Obi-Wan followed him, hopping into the other side. Padmé slid into the back seat, and lay her body along the seat, back pressed up against the left hand wall of the speeder.

When they were all sorted, Anakin took off. The desert turned into a great, orange blur as they sped their way into the sordid spaceport. 

“We need new names,” Obi-Wan said suddenly, only just audible over the rushing of the wind. Anakin slowed down, the roar lessening until they could hear properly. “Thank you, Anakin.”

Padmé nodded. Using their actual names was a one-way ticket to being found very quickly. “So,” Padmé began, “nothing obvious, but things we’re going to remember.”

Obi-Wan smiled at Anakin, faintly mischievous. “I’ll take Hondo.”

Anakin wrinkled up his nose. “Really?”

“I’ll react if I hear it, that’s for sure.” Obi-Wan shrugged. “Besides, he’d probably be flattered.”

“True,” Anakin allowed. “I’ll take… Seripas.”

“What, that tiny bounty hunter in the huge metal suit on Felucia?” Obi-Wan laughed, when Anakin nodded. “Fair enough.”

Padmé sighed. “Well if we’re going for a theme; what was the name of the woman who tried to assassinate me? Ahsoka came with me to a diplomatic conference, there was some bounty hunter in the vents—”

“Oh,” Anakin said, turning his head, “Aurra Sing.”

“That’s the one,” Padmé agreed. “I’ll take Aurra then.”

“Last names?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Well it would make sense for Anakin to be a Lars, which would make me a Lars as well.” Padmé thought out loud. “We’d just need something for you, ‘Hondo’.”

Obi-Wan hummed thoughtfully. “Actually, if you two handle all the transactions, I won’t even need to be on the paperwork.”

“Have a think for one anyway,” Padmé suggested, “just in case.” Silence fell back over the speeder, and deciding the conversation was over, Anakin kicked it up a gear, tearing across the sands.

Mos Eisley looked, in Padmé’s opinion, much like Mos Espa had. Squat, sandy buildings scattered around the sprawling port, some higher, some shorter, many with radio dishes and antennae poking above the cityscape. Each building surrounded by all sorts of small stalls selling something, and each was filled with unusual, shady characters. 

Anakin found a gap between some other speeders and pulled in.

“Want me to stay with the speeder?” Obi-Wan asked.

“I don’t really want to split us up,” Anakin said, pausing as he thought about it, “but that might be a good idea.”

They ended up deciding that Obi-Wan would stay with the speeder, but they’d come check in with him every couple of hours. It wasn’t like they were unarmed. Padmé had a small blaster attached to her thigh, and she knew both her boys had their lightsabers on them. However, using them would be an exceptionally poor idea. A blaster for both of them was on the shopping list. Thus far the list read; sell the ship (probably in pieces), buy blasters, buy clothes, buy a speeder, buy a house. Baby things could come later.

“Keep close,” Anakin muttered beside her and he wrapped his robe closer around himself, pulling the hood fully over his head. “We’ll see if we can deal with the ship first.”

Padmé tucked her hand into the crook of Anakin’s elbow and walked along beside him. It was busy, even for mid-morning. Beings from all over the galaxy bustling about, talking, haggling, running errands. She let Anakin lead, and he meandered up and down the lanes, just looking. They circled around the centre of town at least three times, before Anakin muttered, “Let’s try here,” and headed toward a busy stall.

Anakin continued to loiter, looking bored, before the store owner approached them. The owner, a tall Rodian woman, eyed them up and down, immediately pegging them as off-worlders. Padmé could practically see the credit signs in her eyes.

“Good morning,” she said, smiling at them, “what can I do for you two?”

Padmé had to bite her lip to keep from smiling as Anakin launched into fluent Huttese. The Rodian blinked her star-studded eyes, re-cataloguing them in a moment, and flung herself into the age old tradition of haggling.

Padmé listened absently, not understanding what was being said, but able to follow the gist of it from expressions and body language. Eventually, Anakin asked for the holoprojector, and Padmé fished it from her robes, handing it over. Anakin powered the device on and flicked through the images, the Rodian’s large eyes drinking in each image, asking questions here and there.

“That a J-type star skiff?” came a raspy voice beside Padmé. She just about jumped at the sudden sound, turning to face the short Klatoonian beside her. He was dressed in the usual loose garb of Tatooine with a bright bandana on his head.

Anakin turned his head, and frowned. “Yes.”

“A rare ship, that,” the Klatoonian continued. “How’d you come by it?”

Anakin scoffed at him. “Are you asking if I came by it legally? Here, on Tatooine, at a smugglers market?”

The Klatoonian laughed. “I don’t care if it’s _legal_.”

“Well then,” Anakin said, turning and becoming immediately more friendly. “Stole it. The core worlds are a mess with the takeover of the Empire—I’m sure you’ve heard. I worked in a hanger, and we took her during the chaos. She’s a bit of a mess, but she flies.”

“Show me.” He held out his green hand, indicating for the holoprojector.

“Hey sleemo! Ap-xmasi cheeta je!” the Rodian cut in, “This is my sale!”

The Klatoonian laughed. “You’re only looking at the hyperdrive. I want the whole thing. Take your wares and go.”

“E chu ta ovv, kung!” she yelled, stepping up and putting her hand on the blaster at her hip.

Before either of them could move, the Klatoonian whipped out his blaster and shot the Rodian in the chest. She fell lifeless on the red sand, blood pooling beneath her corpse. There was a moment of silence in the market before people shrugged or shook their heads and returned to their business. Nothing unusual here. Padmé felt so _good_ about raising her child here.

“The schematics?” he repeated, holstering the blaster and holding out his hand again.

Anakin placed the device in his wide palm. “She’s rather battered, and those schematics are a bit out of date; I only managed to steal the older records.”

The Klatoonian filtered through each projection, his blue eyes deadly focused on them. When he had finished, he nodded and handed it back. “I want her. How much do you want for her?”

And thus the bartering game began again. It was long and tedious, and at some point men had come by and cleared up the body of the Radian before subtly making off with what was left of her wares. Padmé did her best to not think about it.

By the end, Anakin managed to wrangle a speeder, four blasters, and a hefty sum of credits out of the Klatoonian in trade of the ship.

Evidently satisfied the Klatoonian said, “Name’s Barada. You?”

“Seripas,” Anakin said smoothly.

Barada held out his hand. “Bu bargain sa nagoola.” Anakin took it and they shook on the deal. “Bring the ship a few miles west of Jabba’s palace, there’s a small settlement. I’ll have the goods there tomorrow.”

At that, he turned and walked back into the crowd.

“That was a stroke of luck,” Padmé observed, walking beside Anakin.

“Hmm,” Anakin replied. “I don’t like dealing with the Hutts, but it’s our best bet. No-one questions them owning anything.”

Padmé frowned. “The Hutts?”

He nodded. “He was one of Jabba’s men.”

“How could you know that?”

“Complete lack of repercussions over daylight murder,” Anakin said simply.

Padmé nodded. That certainly made sense.

They made a quick stop at a stall selling clothing and used the money she had taken out on Coruscant to buy a few changes of clothes for the three of them. Padmé chose pale colours for herself, already overly warm after only a day here, and Anakin went for creams and greys for himself and Obi-Wan. Everything now sorted they returned to the speeder, winding their way back through the busy midday streets. 

Padmé frowned as they got closer. Obi-Wan was leaning against the speeder speaking to a young man holding a pile of packages. The intention of the young man was clear; the stance, the body language, the little touches, they all pointed towards flirtation. Obi-Wan, the charmer that he was, was taking it in his stride, and (most likely unintentionally as usual) flirting back.

Obi-Wan had a very natural charm and an inviting smile, and it proved to be a very effective lure for almost anyone. The warm rays of the Tatooine sun flattered his copper hair and fair complexion. She’d been feeling the effects of his charms over the last week, even if he had been a complete wreck for most of it, his soft smile and deep, kind eyes drawing her in. Padmé personally thought that if Obi-Wan didn’t have the emotional awareness of a rock and didn't live as a monk for most of his life, he would be picking up suitors left, right, and centre.

Obi-Wan’s eyes lit up as they approached, smiling much more broadly than before. It did terrible things to her stomach. 

“Ah, you see, my friends have returned,” Obi-Wan said to the man, before focusing on them. “How did you go?”

“All sorted for now,” Padmé replied. “We will need to make a delivery tomorrow though.”

Anakin was quiet, took the keys, and hopped into the front seat. Obi-Wan offered Padmé a hand and helped her into the speeder. She returned to her prior position of laying across the back seat, giving some relief to her poor back and legs. Padmé watched, resisting a smile, as the young man looked between the three of them, and came to a rather erroneous conclusion. 

The flirtatious grin dropped and he hastily excused himself, muttering something about having deliveries to make. Obi-Wan, noticing nothing, smiled and said goodbye.

The drive back was uneventful, Padmé catching Obi-Wan up on the events of the day. He had been impressed that they’d managed to get rid of the whole ship in one go.

Once home, Anakin begged off, heading outside to start messing with the ship. He’d told the Klatoonian it was battered and a bit damaged in places, so he needed to make it look that way. Padmé returned to the kitchen with Obi-Wan and set about making them both a cup of tea and a snack. 

“How did he go?” Obi-Wan asked, drinking his tea slowly and nibbling on the biscuit Padmé had given him. Evidently he was still feeling a bit off.

“Anakin was great,” Padmé said. “Kept his cool, and managed a fantastic deal with—Barado? I think he’s enjoying having a mission.”

Obi-Wan nodded, and continued drinking his tea.

Obi-Wan brought her up to date on what he’d found on the holonet and listening to gossip in town. The Senate was completely dismantled for now. Palpatine had assumed his position as Emperor and was imposing Imperial rule on every planet he could hold in his slimy grasp. There was still nothing about him being a Sith. He was a crafty fuck, Padmé decided, and given half a chance she would love to personally fight him. Obi-Wan updated her on Bail as well; apparently still alive, still fighting, just quieter than before.

Obi-Wan paused, his mug halfway to the table.

“Obi-Wan?” Padmé asked, confused by the unusual movement.

“I think we should check on Anakin.” Obi-Wan tapped his head and stood up. “I’m getting a weak stream of unsettled emotions.”

Padmé nodded and picked up her discarded cup of tea, now quite cool, and followed Obi-Wan out to check on Anakin’s progress.

For a moment when they stepped up onto the surface, she thought a sandstorm had sprung up. After a moment, she realised that was not the case, there was just a very localised storm around her ship. Padmé watched as Anakin used the Force to pull up a large section of sand and rocks, and heavily scuff the outside of the ship. He whipped it around the outside of the ship forcefully, a bright clang at each rock and a constant hiss from the sand. It was impressive and Padmé would feel much better about it all if Anakin didn’t have such a murderous expression on his face.

When the ship was dull with scuffing, Anakin let up, dropping the sand and rocks to the ground again. Face set, Anakin took to attacking the outside of this ship, tugging at panelling ferociously.

“Anakin, please be careful!” Padmé said. She and Obi-Wan watched nervously as Anakin wrenched a large section of wiring out of the ship. She knew that Anakin knew what he was doing, but something had put him in a mood and he was being unusually reckless about it. 

He ignored her and moved to a different section, tugging up a port and started attacking the relays. He tugged out sections, and started reattaching them elsewhere. His face was hard and focused.

Padmé tried again. “Anakin—”

“Just leave me _alone!_ ” Anakin lashed out, and the mug she had been holding in her hands shattered, lukewarm tea suddenly rushing down between her fingers.

Padmé flinched at the sudden violence and stared down at her hands, disbelief coursing through her veins. The feeling twisted in her chest until it transformed in to vibrant, seething outrage.

“That is _enough_!” Padmé shrieked, the ceramic pieces falling to the ground at her feet.

Anakin stood vaguely stunned at her outburst, his eyes nervously flicking to the shards on the ground

“Either we find a way to help you with this, or you can return to Palpatine!” Padmé yelled. Obi-Wan’s eyes went wide, but he sensibly remained silent beside her.

Anakin frowned and moved away from the ship, closer to them. “You can’t mean—”

“I can and I do!” She could feel how hot her face had become. “We _have to_ find a way to manage this. I will not have my child growing up in an environment where they don’t know what their father is going to do next! Scared that the next thing they say is going to cause one of your outbursts!” She felt tears prickle at her eyes. “ _I’m_ not going to live like that, Ani.”

Anakin deflated. “Padmé…”

“Don’t—” she pulled away from his extended hand, “—touch me.”

“Sorry,” Anakin murmured, pulling back. “Okay, I want to make this work. I want to be here.”

“Right.” Padmé sniffed back her tears, blinking furiously until the prickling abated. “So. Why did you go to Palpatine? What was he offering you that I wasn’t.”

“Padmé, it wasn’t like that—” Anakin began.

“The fuck it wasn’t!” she cried. “Of course it was like that. He manipulated you for _years_ , Anakin, he had to have you hooked somehow.”

She watched his eyes dart over to Obi-Wan, who was carefully refusing to look at him. Instead Obi-Wan’s blue-green eyes met her own and he gave her an encouraging smile. Padmé answered it with her own. It felt good to know he had her back.

“He—” Anakin started, pausing thoughtfully, feet shuffling in the sand. “I don’t know. He… listened to me… made me feel important… special. I felt like I could tell him anything. Everything.”

A cold lance shot through her heart. _Was their marriage a farce?_ She felt paralysing fear take control of her body, the ground seemingly gone from beneath her. Had she not been good enough? Did he actually love her?Why—Why—Why—?

She managed to swallow around the lump in her throat for a few moments longer.

“Can you excuse us for a moment?” Padmé choked out. She turned, clasped Obi-Wan’s hand in hers, and dragged him back to the farmstead.

“Padmé?” Obi-Wan asked quietly, allowing himself to be taken back into the house and into the bedroom. 

She shoved him down to the bed and dropped down beside him, wrapping her arms around him, whispering, “Just, hold me, please,” before the tears were pulled from her. Padmé buried her face in the front of his shirt and let go, sobbing uncontrollably.

Padmé felt warm and safe wrapped up in Obi-Wan, his hand stroking down her hair and along her back. She felt when the world shifted and he had moved so they were lying on the bed. Obi-Wan’s warm body curled toward hers, still petting her softly and whispering gentle reassurances in her ear.

Padmé let her anguish roar through her, manifesting as sobs and whines and grasping hands. Obi-Wan shirt was rough against her face and hands, but solid and so very comforting. Someone was here to help her deal with this. She wasn’t alone.

She just felt like such a _failure_. She felt _stupid_. Why didn’t Anakin feel like he could have come to _her_. They were supposed to be _married_ , for better or worse. It felt like such a betrayal. A _waste_.

Finally, she gave a final sniff and inhaled deeply, willing her emotions back under control.

“Sorry, Obi-Wan,” Padmé murmured.

The arm that was resting on her waist tugged her slightly closer, his other still sliding through her hair. Obi-Wan was such a kind person, allowing her sudden mood swing and giving her what she needed without question.

“It’s no trouble,” Obi-Wan replied, his voice quiet. Padmé could feel the rumble of it against her face. “I can’t imagine how you must be feeling at the moment.”

Padmé laughed softly. “I think you’ve got a pretty good idea.” She sniffed back tears. “Thank you, for being here for me.”

She could hear the smile in Obi-Wan’s voice. “I’m glad I can help. This situation is…”

“Fucked?” Padmé supplied.

Obi-Wan let out a small huff of laughter. “Fucked, yes.”

She sighed, “What are we going to do?” This conversation was so much easier without having to make eye contact.

“I think you were on the right track,” Obi-Wan said softly, “we need to find the right way to support Anakin.”

Padmé hummed in agreement, “Thoughts?”

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment. “Palpatine gave him someone to talk to about anything. I think we need to give Anakin that. A system of some kind; the moment he’s feeling too much of something or is stuck in his head, he should come talk to one of us, and we need to stop and listen.” Obi-Wan sighed. “I think we brushed him off one too many times in the past. We need to take him seriously.”

Padmé nodded against his chest. “I think that’s a good place to start.” 

There were sudden footsteps in the hall, the door swinging abruptly open, followed by Anakin yelling, “What the _hell!?”_

_Ah kriff_. Padmé thought. They had taken too long and Anakin had decided to follow them. Padmé could only imagine how she and Obi-Wan looked right now. The pair of them sat up, Obi-Wan subtly putting some space between them. 

“What is it Anakin?” Padmé asked casually, hoping to defuse the situation.

Anakin grit out, “Palpatine was _right!_ ” 

Obi-Wan frowned. “About what?”

“About the two of you! Sneaking around behind my back!”

Obi-Wan let out a laugh, and then clapped his hand over his mouth.

“Oh, Ani,” Padmé chastised, and frowned at Obi-Wan, “there is no way that is even _slightly_ true. What a ridiculous thing to believe of a man who did _everything in his power to control you_! I have _always_ been faithful to you, and Obi-Wan would never, _ever_ dream of betraying you in such a way!”

“Then what is _this?_ ” Anakin asked.

“Comfort!” Padmé shot back. “I needed _support!”_

_“_ And _Obi-Wan_ was the person you wanted support from!?” Anakin asked, bordering on hysterical.

Padmé crossed her arms. “Right now, _yes_!”

“Do you even _love me anymore?!_ ” Anakin cried out, his arms mirroring hers. His eyes were bright and mouth downturned as he stared at Padmé.

Padmé felt all the air in her lungs leave her. “Oh Ani.” she stood up and strode over to him, taking him gently by the shoulders. Anakin tried pulling away, but she held firm, “Darling, of course I still love you.” She leant forward and pressed a soft kiss to his chin. “I love you more than anything…”

Anakin looked down at her, his expression still crestfallen. “Then why—?”

“Just because I love you, doesn’t mean I can’t be upset with you.” Padmé ran her hand through his hair, cupping the back of his head and pulling his forehead to rest on hers. “All of this scares me, and Obi-Wan was trying to help me. We’re trying to help _you_. We want you to be okay. Happy.”

Anakin’s eyes broke from hers and glanced at Obi-Wan. Something in Obi-Wan’s face must have convinced him, as the worry on his face slipped off and Anakin relaxed into her embrace.

Anakin wrapped his arms around Padmé and pulled her close, now slightly awkward given how large her stomach was compared to the rest of her. Padmé felt a gentle kiss on her cheek before Anakin buried his face in her neck, whispering, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Padmé. I want to fix this, I want to be better than this, I love you so much. Please let me fix this.”

Gods it felt so incredible to be wrapped up in his arms again. She felt safe. Padmé distantly thought that she probably shouldn’t, but she did.

“Of course, darling,” Padmé murmured. “We’ll make this work. I love you.”

Anakin softly stroked his hand up and down her back, pulling back a short way, asking, “Can I kiss you?”

Padmé responded by leaning up and pressing her lips to his. 

Oh, she had missed this. He was so warm against her, his spicy scent filling her senses. His lips were soft and pliant beneath hers, the contact sending sparks down her spine. When he realised she wasn’t backing down from this, he let himself give in fully into the kiss; Anakin pressed in closer, hands tightening perfectly on her clothes and skin. His mouth insistent and needy, occasionally nipping at her lip, drinking her in. Fuck, that was good—

“I’ll just excuse myself now,” Obi-Wan said quietly from behind her. His footsteps quickly retreated, followed by the click of the door.

Padmé froze. She had completely forgotten he was there. That was… rather awkward. Anakin leant back a short ways, and let out a small laugh against her lips. Anakin appeared to have forgotten as well.

“Whoops?” she tried. Anakin just smiled down at her, a metal finger tucking a loose strand of hair behind Padmé’s ear. 

“He’ll forgive us,” Anakin grinned. “I’m surprised he stayed that long.”

Padmé hummed thoughtfully. “Bed?”

Anakin paused at that, a faint flush at his cheeks. “I— I mean— I don’t feel—”

“—for a cuddle,” Padmé clarified, smiling at his awkwardness.

“Oh,” he said. “Yes.”

Padmé stepped back from Anakin and moved around the bed, sliding onto her side—the right—and leant against the pillows. Anakin was still standing, unmoved near the door.

“Are you coming?”

That spurred Anakin into action, kicking off his shoes and climbing up to sit beside her. He wrapped his left arm around her, and Padmé tucked her head in beneath his chin. This was good. She basked in the bliss of being wrapped up in Anakin again. Gods, she could barely even remember what she had been afraid of!

“I want to say sorry,” Padmé said to the quiet. “I let it all go on too long. I was angry with you to begin with, and then I was scared, and it just built up in me emotionally, when I should have done something about it. I never meant to make you think I didn’t love you anymore. I needed space, and I went too far.” Padmé turned her head and kissed the side of his neck. “I’m sorry, Ani.”

“Thank you,” Anakin whispered above her. “I still want to fix this. You’re right that our child shouldn’t be scared of me. I don’t want to be that person.”

Padmé reached her hand over and clasped Anakin’s robotic hand in hers, stroking her thumb over the back of it. “Obi-Wan and I were just talking about that,” she explained, “we thought it might be best if we gave you what Palpatine was: Someone to talk to.”

“How so?” Anakin seemed confused.

“We thought that anytime you’re feeling too much; you’re worried or angry or _anything_ , then you find Obi-Wan or myself to talk you through it,” Padmé said softly. “We promise to stop whatever we’re doing and give you what you need to work it out. Like I said on the ship, we’re done with secrets. We are going to behave like healthy, functioning adults, and we are going to talk about our feelings, and not judge each other for them. Okay?”

“I—Thank you,” Anakin breathed out. “You mean it?”

Padmé nodded against his chest. “Of course. Obi-Wan and I want what is best for you. I want you to be happy and I want to keep you around to raise our child. I love you.”

Anakin buried his face in the top of her head. “I love you too.”

Padmé felt the kiss he pressed to her hair, and revelled in the rush of warmth and affection it created within her. If they could help Anakin, she felt that everything could be okay.

Padmé took a deep breath. “So, in the interest of getting off on the right foot, what had you in such a mood earlier?” She could feel Anakin immediately tense beside her. Padmé gently continued stroking his hand and let out a gentle shushing sound. “Remember, no judgement, just helping you sort your feelings out. I’ve got you.”

There was a long pause.  


“I love Obi-Wan,” Anakin said in a sudden rush. “I never told you and I should have.”

Ah, this was good. He was being honest. “So then why were you upset today?”

“You’re not mad?” Anakin asked quietly.

Padmé smiled. “Darling, I know what your face looks like when you love someone; I’ve been staring at it for years. You look at me and Obi-Wan that same way. You always have.”

“Oh.”

Padmé persisted gently. “So why were you upset?”

Anakin’s metallic fingers curled up around hers, and she felt his whole body relax slightly beside her. “I was jealous. And angry,” Anakin explained. “I felt jealous when that trader was flirting with Obi-Wan, and I _know_ Obi-Wan never really means it when he flirts back—”

“He is rather a natural,” Padmé chimed in.

“—but I still felt it. Then I was angry at myself for being jealous, I _know_ I have no right to be, and I felt guilty because I love you, and I just—” Anakin took a deep breath. “I just hated myself for getting so worked up about it.”

“Thank you for being honest, Ani,” Padmé said. “How are you feeling now?”

“A bit better. It feels good knowing that you know how I feel,” Anakin admitted. “I just still don’t know what to do about Obi-Wan. I want to tell him so I’m not hiding it, but there’s no _point_ in that.”

“Why?” Padmé asked.

Anakin was quiet for a long while, stroking his left hand up and down Padmé’s arm, before saying, “Let’s say I tell him; the most likely option is that it’s going to make things weird, because he doesn’t feel that way back. Unlikely next option is that he does love me in that way; that’s just cruel, because I’m with you, I love you, and I am not going to cheat on you.”

Padmé hummed thoughtfully, and wound their fingers together, “What if it wasn’t cheating?”

Anakin froze entirely. “I— what do you mean?”

“Hypothetically, let’s say you tell Obi-Wan,” Padmé said slowly, “and it turns out he loves you back. What would your thoughts be if I was okay with that? If I said yes, you would have a complete pass to also be with Obi-Wan?”

Anakin was quiet for a long time. 

The thing was, Padmé had thought about this a good year or two ago. When Obi-Wan had started looking at Anakin the way she did. She had been in a strop about it for a good month until she had actually thought about it. It wasn’t like their dynamic would change. Also, if she was being honest with herself, the thought of sharing their bed, of sharing Obi-Wan’s bed, had certainly crossed her mind over the years. There had been senators who she'd known that had relationships like that. She knew Bail and Breha had a similar arrangement.

“Are you sure?” Anakin said softly, and resumed stroking along her arm.

Padmé smiled. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t.”

“Then yes,” he admitted, “if you were okay with it, and on the off chance that it did happen, I would be interested.” He kissed the top of her head again. “I have no idea what I’ve done to deserve you.”

“You’re a good person, Ani.” Padmé pulled away and turned, sitting cross legged on the bed opposite Anakin, looking up at him. “You deserve good things. Never forget that.” She took a deep breath. “Now. In the interests of honesty, I have another question for you.”

“Alright?” His eyebrows drew together.

“I want you to _think_ about your answer before you reply, yes?” Padmé said.

Anakin nodded, the small frown still there. “Yes.”

This had the potential to go very badly. Padmé thought she had read the signs correctly, but she could only try and deal with the fallout if she was wrong. It was better to he honest with him now. 

Padmé picked up each of his hands in her own, his opposite fingers curled around hers. “Now. If that all went as planned, what would you say if I was also interested in joining such an arrangement?” 

Anakin paused for a moment. “You join Obi-Wan and I? It would be the three of us?”

Padmé nodded, watching him carefully.

Anakin sat still, his eyes vacant as he stared sightlessly at her neck. His fingers would occasionally move, responding to her soothing motions as he pondered the question. A selection of expressions crossed his face, a faint frown here, a mouth twitch there. He was thinking it though. Padmé should have sat him down years ago and made him talk to her like this.

Anakin refocused on her, eyes suddenly blinking and drawing up to her face.

He just watched her for a moment, before he said, “Can I ask why?”

“Of course,” Padmé replied. “For me, before now, it has just been a vague an interest; I find Obi-Wan to be very attractive, and I think he is a wonderful person. After this week, after everything he’s done for us, I think I can see what you do.” Padmé hesitated, Gods she felt like a teen at a sleepover, the pair of them gushing about boys they liked. She was a damn grown woman, but Padmé could still feel the faint blush across her cheeks. “I might have a bit of a crush?”

Anakin grinned at her, a laugh escaping his mouth for a moment. He lifted a hand a swiped it along her now warm cheekbone. “Thank you.”

He lapsed into silence again, just watching Padmé with soft eyes.

“Okay,” Anakin said finally. “I think I would be okay with that.”

Padmé swallowed, “Yeah?”

Anakin gave her a shit-eating grin. “It’d be pretty hot.”

She burst out laughing, tugging her hand away from his, and hit him on the arm, “Anakin!”

“What?” He leant in, whispering, “You know I’m right.”

Padmé just grinned back at him, leaning forward to press a brief kiss against the tip of his nose. “Of course darling.”

“When do you think I should tell him?” Anakin asked. He seemed infinitely more settled. Anakin’s shoulders were relaxed, and the tightness around his eyes had gone.

“Not yet.” Padmé advised, “He’s dealing with enough already. Springing anything extra on him at the moment would be a terrible idea. Let’s discuss it again after the baby has been born.” Padmé moved forward, turning to lie flat on her back beside Anakin, staring up at him, “The Gods know I am looking forward to getting this young man out of me. He’s a heavy thing. Makes me ache all over.”

“You think it’s a boy?” Anakin asked, leaning over her.

Padmé stroked her hand over her stomach. “You don’t agree?”

“I’m not sure,” Anakin admitted.

Padmé shrugged, and wrapped her hand around the back of Anakin’s neck. “We’ll find out soon enough. Come here.”

Padmé tugged Anakin down to lie beside her. He immediately allowed it, melting down beside her and coiling around her like a ribbon. Padmé released the breath she had been holding since Mustafar and twined her arms with his, turning her head to press their foreheads together. Anakin’s blue eyes smiled back at her.

They could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huttese Translations! (A mix of google and me making it up as I go)  
> “Hey sleemo! Ap-xmasi cheeta je!” - Hey slime ball, do not cheat me!  
> “E chu ta ovv, kung!” - Fuck off, scum.  
> “Bu bargain sa nagoola.” - The deal is not bad (going off that old addage that a deal is only good when both people are unhappy with it, so, for my intentions, he's saying that its a fair deal.)


	6. Adjustments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone needs to stop me. These chapters just keep getting longer. Send help. Work has been crazy and I have been sick this week, so if things don't make sense, I'm very sorry, my brain is a pile of mush.
> 
> We are back to Obi-Wan who continues to be the fucking worst at dealing with shit, and he doesn't want to do what I want. Boy needs to sort himself out. As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Obi-Wan escaped from the room, tugging the door hastily shut behind him. He fled up and out onto the plains of Tatooine, his mental shields pulled tight like a cloak around him. He was breathless and flustered but Obi-Wan just kept moving, unable to calm his mind. He paced around in a circle, eyes darting wildly between the ground and the sky.

He felt unsettled. 

He hadn't meant to stay for so long.

He hadn’t expected it to go from yelling to kissing quite so quickly.

There was a strange roiling in his stomach.

Eventually, Obi-Wan stopped pacing and dropped mid-stride to sit on the ground. He put his head in his hands and took a deep breath in.

It was surprise. It had to be. He’d been so surprised at the sudden change in the room he’d been frozen to the spot. He’d felt panicked when Anakin had come in, anger in every line of his body, and he hadn’t meant to _laugh_ when he’d suggested Obi-Wan and Padmé had been having an affair, but the fear had set in and his body had instinctively responded to such a preposterous suggestion. Like Padmé and Anakin hadn’t been ‘sneaking around’ for years. Then Padmé had leant in, catching her soft lips against Anakin’s, before he had gathered her into his arms and—

No. Stop it. Put it aside.

Force, he was being ridiculous. Anakin and Padmé had been doing such things for years. They’d just never done it in front of him. Then he’d just sat there, like a _moron_ , staring at them until his brain had kicked into gear and reminded him to _leave_.

Obi-Wan felt ill.

Between the intense fear and this roiling uncertainty, it was too much.

He was _not_ going to be sick. He’d kept it together for a week now, and he was not going to fail now. He’d held himself together after his dream last night, he could do so again now. This was ridiculous. He lay back on the sand, arms spread beside him and took long, slow breaths.

No. Laying down wasn’t helping.

He stood up and began walking again. He needed a distraction.

Obi-Wan circled the yard again before his eyes fell upon the now scuffed ship. He knew he was no Anakin, but he did know how to make a ship look used and still function. Obi-Wan had had to mess with his own craft enough times in the field.

Obi-Wan set to work on the inside of the ship. It was too pristine within and Obi-Wan followed Anakin’s lead, collecting up a pile of sand from outside and running it around the inside of the ship. It was soothing, watching the perfect interior darken with damage. It nicely took his mind away from the way Anakin’s eyes had fluttered—

He did a complete circuit of the ship, leaving grains of sand as he went, adding to the worn look. Obi-Wan then sat at the console of the ship and began rewiring it in places so that it looked like they had hot-wired it and then customised it further after its ‘theft’.The sand fed seamlessly through the circuitry and console buttons, gently nesting beside them the way Padmé had curled into Anakin’s embrace—

He let out a cry of frustration and let the sand drop into a heap on the floor. Obi-Wan wished he had never seen such a thing. The whole event seemed to have burned itself behind his eyes and it was infuriating.

Meditation it was.

He’d put all thoughts of Anakin out of his mind years ago, and he could do it again. It was a fruitless endeavour to keep dwelling on it.

Leaving the sand where it had fallen, Obi-Wan walked back through the ship and settled himself on the couch. Obi-Wan curled his legs beneath him, and focused inward. He turned over each troublesome thought, dismissing each one, and tucked them away where they couldn’t bother him. He knew there was no point worrying about it, it was best to just put _those_ thoughts aside.

It felt good to settle his mind.

Obi-Wan stayed that way for a long time; finally being able to meditate again felt incredible and he wanted to stay in this quiet place for as long as he could. He put his worries away, and allowed himself to drift in quiet reflection.

* * *

When Obi-Wan finally opened his eyes, Anakin was sitting on the floor in front of him. Obi-Wan was surprised to see Anakin meditating along with him. His Padawan had not willingly meditated in a long time as far as Obi-Wan was aware, and had often complained about it during his apprenticeship. 

Anakin evidently noticed Obi-Wan was back in the room and his eyes flashed open.

“Hello there,” Obi-Wan said and smiled.

“Hey, Obi-Wan.” Anakin smiled back. “I see you’ve been hard at work in here. The rewiring of the console looked pretty good.”

Obi-Wan shrugged. "I needed something to do.”

There was a long silence before Anakin said, “We’re sorry about earlier, we didn’t mean for that to happen.”

The meditation had evidently helped as the reminder no longer caused twisting in his stomach, so Obi-Wan just shrugged. “I’ve cared for you for far too long to hold anything against you for any real length of time,” Obi-Wan replied softly. “Ever since you were this high.” Obi-Wan held his hand to the height Anakin had stood at when they had met.

Anakin scoffed, but still had a soft smile on his face. “Yeah. Right. You didn’t like me when you met me. You didn’t want me as your padawan; you didn’t even want me trained.”

“We—” Obi-Wan pressed his lips together, thoughtfully. “We never spoke about what happened on Naboo, did we? Or about Master Jinn and I.”

Anakin looked at him, surprised. “No.”

They hadn’t, and Obi-Wan knew it. Anakin had always gotten an unusual look on his face whenever Qui-Gon was mentioned in passing in the temple. His blue eyes looking interestedly between Obi-Wan and whoever had mentioned his old Master. Obi-Wan had never wanted to talk about it, wanted to avoid all the sharp, jagged emotions that would rise in his throat whenever he thought about it too hard. He had seen Anakin’s interest and ignored it as best he could.

Anakin stood up and moved to sit down on the couch beside Obi-Wan. 

Obi-Wan sighed and stared down at his own hands. “There’s a lot we haven’t spoken about, isn’t there.”

It hadn’t been a question and Anakin just waited silently beside him to hear what Obi-Wan had to say.

“I suppose I should start at the begining.” Obi-Wan combed his fingers through his ginger locks, heart tight in his chest, and glanced at Anakin. “On Naboo. The whole…” Obi-Wan trailed off.

Anakin just waited.

He tried again, going into the crux of the issue. “I outwardly disliked you then because I was fiercely jealous of you. Qui-Gon was desperate to train you; a boy who was well beyond usual age restrictions and clearly highly emotional. He—I don’t know if you remember—when he offered to train you in front of the Council, he said I was ready for my trials, so then he would be free to train you. We had never discussed such a thing before then and—”

“He sprung your _trials_ on you mid- _Council meeting_?” Anakin was affronted.

Obi-Wan nodded passively. He’d felt the same way when it had happened. However, time had dulled that particular knife. Obi-Wan continued. “On top of that, I could see darkness in your future—whether that was you or Sidious or the war or some combination thereof, I don’t know. It was not you that I disliked, you were sweet and friendly and just a bit lost. It was what you’re existence had caused for me; the sudden loss of my Master and an uncertain future.”

Anakin was watching him with wide eyes and a perplexed expression.

Obi-Wan braced himself for the following admission, it was this pocket of emotions that still felt raw. It was the wound that had never quite healed right. “On top of which, it _stung_ that Qui-Gon was willing to train you, untrained and emotional and too old, but he hadn’t been willing to train me. Did you know I very nearly aged out into the AgriCorps?—No that’s inaccurate, I _did_ age out into the AgriCorps for a brief time.”

“What? No way!” Anakin exclaimed, looking lost and personally insulted on Obi-Wan’s behalf. That felt surprisingly nice. Anakin frowned. “Did no-one else…?”

Obi-Wan glanced away briefly, unable to look Anakin in the eyes any longer, and shook his head, “No. I was too angry, too headstrong, and ended up in a fight during the last few days before my life day. Thus no-one was willing to take me as their Padawan. So, days before I turned thirteen, I was shipped off to the ‘Corps on Bandomeer.”

Anakin sat in stunned silence as Obi-Wan poured his past out to him. Obi-Wan could still feel the sharp pain of the memory. Could still feel the rejection he’d felt that day when he’d been told to leave. He swallowed it back down.

“By some chance or, as I suspect, a small, green Jedi Master, Qui-Gon was on the same flight.” Obi-Wan smiled softly, the edges of it tasting bitter. “I thought that would be my salvation, that Qui-Gon would see how good and capable I was, and he would change his mind… but no. Even with pirate attacks and hostile creatures on the planet we crashed on, I was not good enough.”

Anakin looked distinctly as though he would like to fight someone.

“From there, Qui-Gon had a mission to complete and I had to learn my new post.” Obi-Wan took a deep breath, eyes staring off into the distance. “Eventually, I got myself involved in his mission—kidnapped, of course—and I enjoyed a good week of slavery with a lovely collar rigged to explode if I escaped. I managed to temporarily neutralise the collar and get myself rescued.”

Obi-Wan wasn’t sure what triggered the flash of anger in Anakin’s eyes, but he didn’t like it. Anakin’s jaw worked furiously, as though trying to keep something in. Obi-Wan ignored it and pressed on.

“It turned out the mission Master Jinn was investigating revolved around two rival mining operations; Qui-Gon discovered that one was controlled by his’s last apprentice, Xanatos, who had fallen to the Dark Side,” Obi-Wan explained. “A rather long story short, Xanatos trapped us down in the mines, separated from the bombs set to explode. I offered to reactivate my collar to blast the door open so he would be able to save the miners—“

“Obi-Wan, no!” Anakin protested, horrified, his face contorted with shock and disbelief.

Obi-Wan just gave him a shy smile in return. “That is a very similar expression to the one Master Jinn had when I suggested it. Qui-Gon found a way to open the door, and we managed to disarm the bombs. Afterward, he offered me the position of his Padawan, and I accepted.”

Anakin was silent for a few moments before he moved. He lunged, wrapping his arms around Obi-Wan and pinning him against the back of the sofa, trapping Obi-Wan beneath him in a tight hug, whispering, “You can’t solve all your problems with self-sacrifice, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan initially tensed, before relaxing under Anakin’s weight. It wasn’t always the best course of action, but it was effective. They weren’t empty threats either. Obi-Wan had stared death in the eyes both times and accepted it. He knew he was an acceptable loss in the grand scheme of things. If his death could help people, then it was fine.

“It seems to have worked for me so far,” Obi-Wan laughed softly.

Anakin pulled back and glared down at him, growling out, “That’s not even slightly funny.” Obi-Wan just blinked at him. Anakin sighed. “I can’t believe Qui-Gon treated you like that.”

Obi-Wan just chuckled, chest moving against Anakin’s. “I suppose I should never tell you about Melida/Daan then.” Obi-Wan had the distinct feeling Anakin would not like to hear that particular story.

Anakin just frowned down at him and even without the knowledge he was still looking distinctly unhappy.

“So you see,” Obi-Wan murmured finally, “I never hated you, I was distressed by the situation, and I took it out on you. I am sorry.”

“Obi-Wan, I—” Anakin breathed. “Thank you for telling me that.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Can I have some personal space now?” 

Anakin blinked and seemed to suddenly realise he was partly laying on top of Obi-Wan. “Oh. Right. Yeah.” Anakin moved back, and Obi-Wan found it much easier to breathe again.

“Can I—” Anakin cut himself off, pressing his lips together nervously.

When Anakin didn’t continue, Obi-Wan asked, “What is it?”

“I spoke with Padmé. She said that you are both going to let me come talk to you if I need to, and help me manage how I’m feeling.” Anakin said quietly.

Oh, that was good to know. Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if Padmé had brought him up to date or whether they had become fully… distracted after he had left.

“Yes, we did agree on that.” Obi-Wan confirmed.

“I’m feeling…” Anakin was thoughtful for a moment, “upset to know you went through all of that. If Qui-Gon was still alive, I would have some very strong words for him. I’m angry at him treating you like that, and I just— I was wondering…”

“Yes?”

Anakin cast his eyes downward, nervous. “Can I hold your hand?” Obi-Wan just blinked at him, mildly perplexed. “To help me focus,” Anakin explained quickly. “To know you’re here and you’re okay. If you don’t want to—”

“Okay,” Obi-Wan agreed. He and Padmé had agreed to do what they could, and if holding Anakin’s hand was going to help, then he would help.

Anakin looked up, surprise and elation staining his expression. Anakin reached out and curled his left hand around Obi-Wan’s right, releasing a large breath at the skin-to-skin contact.

“Sorry,” Anakin murmured. “I’ve been finding that touching other people helps. I was able to meditate beside you while you were asleep on the flight here, and it helped when I was talking to Padmé earlier. Is that okay?”

“Don’t apologise, it is perfectly fine,” Obi-Wan replied. “It might take some time for me to get used to it, but I want to help.”

Anakin smiled down at their hands, a faint pink tinging his ears. “Thank you.”

His palm was warm in Obi-Wan’s, and he could feel the thrum between their bond at the contact. Anakin’s spikes of anxiety slowly smoothing out into contentment, his fingers gently stroking along the back of Obi-Wan’s hand.

“Did Padmé help you sort out how you were feeling earlier?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin nodded. “We talked though some things.”

There was a moment of silence.

“When you’re settled, shall we continue with the ship?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Yeah,” Anakin agreed, “we need to get the whole thing sorted before bed so we can take it out past Jabba’s in the morning.”

They sat for a few moments longer, Anakin breathing beside him, long and even and calm.

Anakin exhaled. “Let’s get to work.” 

The pair of them worked in tandem to reconfigure the ship; rewiring areas to seem more slap-dash, tarnishing anything that looked too neat or clean, and completely emptying the ship of anything that wasn’t bolted down. Obi-Wan wiped the drives of any and all information on there. Anakin then checked over it, wiped it again, and then sabotaged the system in some places. Hours later, the two of them stood in the cockpit together, hot and dusty, but their job complete.

“I think we did well.” Anakin grinned at him. “Looks new, if battered, and nothing on here links back to us.”

Obi-Wan’s stomach growled quietly. 

Anakin frowned thoughtfully. “Did you eat lunch?”

Ah. Kriff. He _really_ hadn’t felt like eating earlier. Between having a slightly off day to begin with followed by the nervous panic around midday, Obi-Wan felt he had been lucky to keep breakfast down.

“No," Obi-Wan said quietly. “I wasn’t hungry.”

Anakin made a face. “Let’s go get some dinner then.”

It was easier to not argue.

Obi-Wan followed obediently, and the pair returned to the farm to find Padmé, Owen and Beru already making dinner. Over the meal, the trio caught Owen and Beru up on what had happened to the Republic. Beru had been fascinated by the news, only having heard parts of rumours for the past week, and rumours on Tatooine were about as believable as a Hutt on a witness stand. 

“Well,” Beru said at the end, “this ‘Empire’ won’t be coming out here very soon, I’d imagine they’ll be dealing with internal issues for a long while. Besides, Jabba wouldn’t let them have the planet anyway.”

Owen nodded. “I wouldn’t want to piss off Jabba. He has too many connections and favours and fingers in pies to dethrone easily.”

Anakin made a grumbly noise beside him. 

“Oh,” Owen continued, “which reminds me, when you decide on a house, definitely pay the ‘ownership tax’. Believe me you’ll notice how dodgy it is when they ask, but unless you want Jabba and his goons fucking with you, just pay the damn thing.”  


“That is good to know,” Padmé said. “Thank you.”

The evening was quiet, the three of them returning to their room, all of them too exhausted to try to talk. Obi-Wan settled back into his pile of blankets, chasing away the chill of the Tatooine night. His body was sore and mind still felt jagged around the edges. 

He didn’t sleep. 

He didn’t want to dream.

Last night’s dream had been enough.

The universe seemed to have an awful sense of humour. Experiencing weeks of Mustafar was evidently not enough, it had to haunt him even now.

The moment light peeked beneath the door the next morning Obi-Wan snuck out from the room, leaving Anakin and Padmé to sleep. He sat at the kitchen table and began mulling over their next steps. He needed to get them both settled and happy. Then… well he should probably go then.

He sighed and rested his head on the table, exhaustion begining to kick in. Obi-Wan _hated_ feeling like this. It felt weak. There was just this constant, low-level tightness in his chest that no matter how much he meditated, remained lodged there.

He _knew_ everything was okay and yet the feeling persisted. 

He felt it spike whenever Anakin did, his mind providing him with flashes of Mustafar. He knew it was fine. He’d succeeded in turning Anakin back to the light and everything was going well so far. Padmé was fine, the babies were fine, Anakin was mostly fine. Obi-Wan closed his eyes.

* * *

“—an?”

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Instincts kicked in and he grabbed the hand, lashing out with violent force at his attacker. His hand shot out, latching onto the arm, his other grabbing the head of the person, forcefully pulling them down with the intention of hitting their head on the surface. It took only a matter of seconds, Obi-Wan’s brutal assault thoroughly effective in sending his assailant into the table. He sprang backwards, standing up, ready to follow through with—

“Obi-Wan!” A female voice exclaimed.

He blinked. 

He was in the kitchen. 

On Tatooine.

He’d just thrown Anakin into the table.

“Fuck,” Obi-Wan said. “Anakin?”

Anakin stood up, groaning, his hand covering his face. Blood peeked out from between his fingers. Padmé stood on the other side of the room, eyes wide and hands held up in front of her.

“Oh, Sith damn it,” Obi-Wan whispered and moved forward, his hands outstretched and his heart in his throat. “I’m so sorry, Anakin.”

Anakin groaned again. “Kriffing fuck, you hit hard!”

Obi-Wan stepped up to him, hesitant, his fingers dancing over Anakin’s hand, gently murmuring, “Let me see.”

Anakin allowed Obi-Wan to lift his hand away to reveal his face. Already, a large bruise was blooming across the bridge of his nose and right cheekbone as blood dripped from his nostrils.

“How is it?” Anakin asked.

“Well, you’ve had worse.” Obi-Wan gave him a half smile. “I really am sorry. Padmé can you—?”

Padmé was suddenly beside him, a pile of tissues and some ice wrapped in a towel in hand. “Way ahead of you.”

“Thank you.”

Anakin took the tissues and applied them to his nose, wincing at the contact.

“I’m glad it wasn’t me who tried to wake you,” Padmé said, turning to fuss over Anakin, pulling his hair back from his face and gently applying the towelled ice to his face.

Anakin hissed but allowed it, before his eyes turned to Obi-Wan. “What were you doing sleeping in the kitchen?”

Obi-Wan felt suddenly cold. He carefully pulled his up his shields tightly, hoping to be able to brush the question off and lie his way out of this. He didn’t want either of them to worry. They both had enough on their plates. “I was just—”

“Nuh-uh,” Anakin cut in, “don’t block me out. I can feel you doing that.”

Obi-Wan glanced away. He felt like a youngling caught out at night, shame and embarrassment mingling together.

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan hesitated, but shook his head.

Padmé frowned at him. “Why not?”

“Nothing. It’s fine. I’m fine,” Obi-Wan said.

“Obi-Wan,” Anakin pressed.

“ _I wasn’t tired,_ ” he bit back, final, and in the voice he usually only used when commanding.

Anakin visibly bristled. Padmé frowned. Obi-Wan felt distinctly guilty.

“Sorry,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Or ever.

“Right,” Padmé said finally, placing a soothing hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “Well the two of you need to head off and drop the ship to Barada.”

Padmé then grabbed a large bag from the counter and passed it to Anakin. “Here’s breakfast and your impromptu weapons bag.” She then slipped her hand up her skirt and revealed her small blaster pistol and passed it to Obi-Wan. “Just in case.”

At that, they waited until Anakin’s nose stopped bleeding before she herded them both out of the house, escorting them to the ship. “Don’t do anything stupid,” she said finally. “Either of you.” Then after giving them both a stern look, she turned and went back to the farmstead.

Anakin silently entered the ship with Obi-Wan following behind. Anakin sat down at the console and fired up the ship, taking her up into a low flight plan over the Tatooine desert. Obi-Wan had tucked Padmé’s blaster into his shirt. They flew in silence, Anakin evidently still upset with him about earlier.

Obi-Wan’s eyes hurt.

“What’s the plan?” Obi-Wan asked after ten minutes or so, desperate to break the silence.

Anakin was silent, jaw set. His blue eyes were fixed forward with his hair curled haphazardly about his ears. The bruising on his face was darkening slowly. Force he felt terrible about that.

“Anakin?”

Silence.

“Anakin. You can’t ignore me forever.”

Silence.

“ _Anakin_ —”

“Why did you lie?” Anakin bit out, not looking at him.

Obi-Wan was initially quiet. 

“I didn’t want you to worry,” Obi-Wan eventually replied. “You’ve both got enough going on.”

“Well too bad, I’m worried.” Anakin swivelled the chair around to face him, face twisted with emotion. “I’m worried about you neglecting yourself out of some misplaced sense of responsibility! I fucking _care_ about you, Obi-Wan—”

Obi-Wan took a breath in. “Anakin—”

“No!” Anakin stood up and stalked across the cockpit, standing over Obi-Wan, his eyes bright and focused. “You’re going to _listen_! You seem to think neither of us would give a damn if if you killed yourself like this, but we _do_ and you _can’t do this_! I would be fucking devastated if anything happened to you! Do you understand?!”

He didn’t, but he nodded passively. His chest felt tight; his mind was conflicted between the words coming out of Anakin’s mouth, and the aggressive stance and tone.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked quietly.

Obi-Wan took a few long, deep breaths and shook his head, willing his heart to stop racing. Anakin lowered himself so he was eye level with Obi-Wan, Anakin's mechanical hand gently touching the side of Obi-Wan’s face.

“Sorry. Deep breaths,” Anakin said gently. “We’re not having a good day are we?”

The console behind them beeped urgently. Anakin’s bruised face scrunched unhappily and returned his focus to the ship. “We’re here,” Anakin said, “and we _are_ talking about this later.”

Obi-Wan pushed his feelings aside, well practiced on being battle ready. He took one final deep breath. “What’s the plan?”

“We should assume this will go fine,” Anakin said. “Barada seemed to at least be a serious trader. He’s unlikely to fuck us over. We both go down to meet him, and roll with the punches as they come.”

Obi-Wan had to smile. “A classic Skywalker strategy.”

“Hey,” he returned. “My plans are great.”

Anakin carefully landed the ship on the edge of the small cluster of buildings. Anakin then grabbed the bag Padmé had given them and lowered the ramp. “Come on,” Anakin said and waited for Obi-Wan to stand up and follow him out of the ship.

Barada was waiting for them at the base of the ramp, a loose tunic and his orange bandana blowing in the light breeze.

“Seripas! Welcome to Momesra,” Barada welcomed them. “Who is your friend? Decided to leave the wife at home, ey? Piss her off last night?” He gestured at Anakin’s face.

Anakin turned up the charm, grinning, “She is not used to the heat and chose to stay at home. This is my friend, Hondo. I would suggest not sneaking up on him.” 

“A pleasure,” Obi-Wan responded.

Barada nodded saying, “You have a solid swing,” and then stepped back, turning his head up to the ship behind them. “Whe-hey,” Barada whistled. “She’s a beauty in person. I see what you meant about the sand damage. Nothing I can’t buff out. I’m looking forward to being elbow deep in her if you know what I mean.” He laughed.

Anakin joined in and Obi-Wan had to fiercely resist rolling his eyes.

From there Anakin took Barada on a tour of the ship, the Klatoonian’s eyes were drinking it all in, clearly thrilled with his purchase. Anakin and he slipped into Huttese around halfway through the tour, the two of them losing themselves in tech talk. 

“Ignition key?” Barada asked finally, a fair time later.

Anakin gave him a sly smile. “Once we’ve seen your goods.”

The Klatoonian grinned at him. “You are no fool, Seripas. Come!”

They then followed Barada to a building a short way down the street. The settlement was quite small, only seven buildings clustered together poking partway out of the ground. Obi-Wan could see a few citizens loitering around, though today it seemed to mainly be children playing in between the houses.

Barada led them down some stairs to a medium sized warehouse filled with miscellaneous items: blasters, blades, grenades, shield generators, speeders, swoops and more.

“Quite the collection,” Obi-Wan said honestly. “Very impressive.”

Barada nodded proudly and led them to a wall to their left where he had a table laid out with three DC-17 hand blasters and one E-11 blaster rifle. Next to the table was what appeared to be a grey, lightly battered T-44 landspeeder.

Anakin fiddled with each of the weapons before inspecting the speeder incredibly thoroughly before saying, “This all looks excellent. We still have a deal assuming you have the credits.”

“I have a proposition for you,” Barada said.

Anakin frowned. “You’re not altering the deal are you?”

“You are free to refuse and we will keep the initial deal, but you should hear it,” he pressed.

Anakin crossed his arms, but agreed. “Okay.”

“My employer—”

“Jabba, yes?” Anakin queried.

The Klatoonian grinned. “Yes. Very sharp. He has a piece of land near the Jundland Wastes that is not useful to him and he would be willing to part with it, instead of the cash discussed. You are new to the planet from the Core, I think you need a home.”

It was not a bad deal.

“We’d want to see blueprints and a map,” Obi-Wan said. “Would that deal include the ‘ownership tax’?”

He laughed, a pointed grin on his face. “We would waiver the tax, at least for this year. Of course, I can show you it all. Here.”

Barada pulled out a holoprojector from his pants and held it up. “The farm.”

“Moisture farm?” Anakin asked, and began flicking through the images.

“Yes. Yes.”

Anakin hummed. “Vaporators in working order?”

“Mostly,” the Klatoonian said, “though all repairable. Looking at how you handled that ship, I think you will have no trouble.”

Anakin continued looking, before passing the projector to Obi-Wan. “How recent are those pictures?”

“A week or two ago, it was a recent acquisition.”

Obi-Wan looked through the pictures. It looked run down, but not irreparably so, and it appeared to be mostly furnished. There was enough space for all of them; an open lounge and kitchen area, plus two other rooms and a bathroom. It would need a serious cleaning.

“Map?” Anakin asked.

The Klatoonian gestured to the holoprojector and Obi-Wan passed it back. Barada pulled up a large [map](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/b/ba/Tatooine_Map.png/revision/latest?cb=20130826212315) of Tatooine.

“Here we are, west of Jabba’s Palace. Down here is Mos Eisley and Mos Espa and the others over here. Jundland Wastes down here, and the Western Dune Sea.” He indicated those landmarks. “The farm is here.” He pointed to the far west of the Jundland Wastes, nearly due south from Mos Espa on the edge of the mountain range.

“We will need a minute to discuss it,” Anakin said finally when Obi-Wan looked up from the map.

Barada nodded and took a few steps away to give them some privacy.

“It’s a pretty good deal,” Obi-Wan said. “It’s remote, it’s a functional farm and it comes with furniture—even if it will need a fair bit of work.”

Anakin nodded. “I agree. Think we should?”

Obi-Wan replied, “It would save us time finding somewhere else, and still have to pay for the house _and_ the tax.”

“It’s not a huge saving, cost wise, but it is something,” Anakin agreed.

“Shall we take it?” 

Anakin nodded and turned back to Barada, calling out their agreement.

“Excellent!” Barada exclaimed and walked back over to them.

Anakin held his hand out and they shook, Anakin saying, “Bu bargain sa nagoola.”

Barada pulled out two sheets of paper, both the same, detailing the deed to the house and surrounding land. The Hutts may be criminals, but they were ruthless with paperwork when it suited them. Anakin signed both sheets under ‘Seripas Lars’. Both men then swapped holoprojectors, Anakin taking the house pictures and blueprints, Barada taking the ships schematics.

They collected up the blasters, Anakin tucking them into the bag he’d brought and Barada opened a garage door at the far end of the room. A ramp appeared to lead up and out from behind it, and the three of them pushed the speeder up the slope and out onto the Tatooine flats. Anakin traded the ships ignition key for the speeder and farm keys from Barada. They parted ways with Obi-Wan pleasantly surprised by the lack of blaster-fire involved.

They both hopped into the speeder and Anakin fired it up after dropping the bag of weapons into the back seat. Anakin grinned happily at the sound of the engine, before speeding off across the desert, following the directions given to them by the Klatoonian of how to get out of the Great Mesra Plateau and head back to Mos Eisley.

The red haze of Tatooine slid past them, Anakin going faster and slower in spurts and weaving left and right as he drove. He was clearly testing the capabilities of the vehicle, but it was making Obi-Wan feel ill.

“Can we not be weaving so much?” Obi-Wan asked. “You’re making me nauseous.”

Anakin suddenly hit the brakes, pulling the speeder to a complete stop, and turned on Obi-Wan. “You haven’t eaten again. I didn’t let you eat breakfast on the ship.” Anakin turned the speeder off and turned around in his seat, tugging open the weapons bag and pulling out some rather squashed sandwiches. Anakin passed one to him. 

Obi-Wan took it without argument. He unwrapped it and bit into it. He hadn’t noticed how hungry he was. The cheese within had melted slightly from being out in the sun.

“While we’re here,” Anakin began, and Obi-Wan felt his heart drop, “we’re finishing our earlier conversation.”

Obi-Wan took a strategic bite of his sandwich.

“Do you understand what I was saying before?” Anakin pressed on. “I find it… distressing that you don’t see the importance of looking after yourself.”

“I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan said. “It just doesn’t matter that much. In the grand scheme of things, the fact I’m not sleeping doesn’t matter.”

Anakin frowned at that, but only asked, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Ah, he’d walked into that admission. 

Obi-Wan looked away, and continued to eat the sandwich.

“Obi-Wan,” Anakin pushed, and Obi-Wan could feel blue eyes fixed on the side of his head. 

“The first night here I dreamt of Mustafar. Of what was going to happen,” He said finally, but didn’t look up. “I didn’t want to see it again last night. I can live without sleep. It doesn’t matter.”

“It _does_ though.” Anakin slid closer, the leather of the seat creaking as he moved. “It means you’re not fine. You’re my friend and I care about you.” He sighed and picked up a different tack. “What if I were doing what you are? If I was forgetting to eat all the time and hiding the fact I wasn’t sleeping most nights from you?”

Obi-Wan immediately felt a thrill of panic in his stomach, head whipping up to look at Anakin, his hair fluttering in the breeze. He would have dragged Anakin off for the lecture of his life by now. 

Ah.

Anakin smiled at what must have been a horrified expression. “See? You’re both helping me; Let us help you,” Anakin said quietly.

Obi-Wan was silent for a long time, thinking. He didn’t like it, he didn’t want either of them having to see this weakness...but at the same time, it wasn’t fair or right that he was holding Anakin to standards he wasn’t following himself.

“Okay,” Obi-Wan replied finally.

Anakin nodded. “Good.”

They then finished their sandwiches in relative silence, the warmth from the sun beating down on them, Anakin only breaking the quiet to point out an unusual rock formation in the distance. It did look a fair bit like Artoo.

“Okay,” Anakin said, now satisfied they had both eaten. “Let’s go pick up Padmé and check out our new home.”

He reignited the engine and sped them across the landscape, following landmarks and slipping through a thin valley, before coming out near to Mos Eisley. Once there, Anakin was able to swiftly navigate back to the Lars farmstead.

Padmé greeted them warmly as they pulled up, her cheeks pink in the midday sun.

“You both took a while,” she said. “I was getting worried. How did it go?”

“Excellently. We have a home.” Anakin grinned.

Padmé’s eyebrows shot up. “How did you manage that?”

“Barada offered us an excellent deal,” Obi-Wan explained. “We thought it wise to not spurn the generosity of a Hutt.”

Anakin disappeared to update Owen and Beru to the change in plans while Obi-Wan and Padmé set about gathering up all their belongings and putting them in the speeder. Obi-Wan related the morning to her, Padmé briefly having a look through the holoprojector Anakin had left in the front seat. They managed to get the majority of their belongings in the trunk and the remainder covered about half of the back seat.

“The three of us will have to squish up in the front,” Padmé said thoughtfully, looking at the speeder.

Obi-Wan frowned. “Why? There’s space in the back.”

Padmé smiled up at him. “You are forgetting Anakin’s metal children.”

“Ah. Very true.”

Anakin eventually returned, Owen and Beru with him, with Owen carrying a plastic drum. Threepio and Artoo came trundling out behind them as well.

Padmé warmly thanked them both. “You took us at the drop of a hat. Thank you so very much. If there’s anything you ever need from us, please do not hesitate to get in touch.”

“It was good to see you both again.” Owen smiled. “We’d love for Ani to come visit from time to time; we haven’t had this much tech in working order for years.”

Anakin smiled. “Of course.”

“Here,” Owen continued, holding up the drum, “take this as a housewarming gift. It’s just water, but you’re going to need some until you have your vaporators up and running. This will at least help for a couple of days.”

Beru then held up a small bag. “Also some food. It will do you for today at least.”

“Thank you,” Anakin said, and found a place in the speeder to put the drum, Padmé taking the food.

Obi-Wan smiled at them, offering them both a short bow. “It was lovely to meet you both.”

Pleasantries finished and goodbyes said, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padmé, and the two droids piled into the speeder. Anakin in the drivers seat, Padmé pressed beside him and Obi-Wan next to her. It was tight, but they fit. 

Artoo beeped happily as they as they took off, Threepio immediately complaining about the sand. Anakin laughed at the complaints, Padmé smiling along with him. Obi-Wan turned his attention outward, watching the horizon passively.

They sped through the Jundland Wastes, the mountains rising high around them, Obi-Wan keeping half an eye on the ridges. Anakin had mentioned that the Tuskens occasionally raided this area, and Obi-Wan didn’t want to be taken by surprise. He saw the occasional movement, but nothing made to attack them.

A couple of hours of driving later they exited the Wastes and entered the flatter open plains. Anakin took a hard left, following along the mountain range, all eyes peeled for their new house.

“There!” Padmé called, pointing some ways ahead of them. The house was nestled at the base of the mountain range, the rectangular head of the building poking up from the ground. 

Anakin drove carefully, watching for moisture collectors, and gently weaved up to the building. Artoo was the first one out, firing up his thrusters and jumping from the vehicle, humming happily and wheeling around the front yard.

“Happy?” Padmé asked the droid, a bright grin on her face.

Artoo whistled the affirmative, doing a loop around the structure, continuously chattering. Obi-Wan climbed out of the speeder and turned to help Padmé out. She took his hand, carefully removing herself from the vehicle, only briefly stumbling into him.

“Sorry,” she said, righting herself. “The house looks good.”

Anakin helped Threepio from the speeder, his legs struggling with the movement. 

“Let’s check it out,” Anakin said cheerily, tossing Padmé the key and picking up the water container from the back of the speeder.

Obi-Wan grabbed a couple of bags from the back as well, following the pair of them into the house. Padmé unlocked the door. 

It swung open to reveal an open living area, two couches inset to the wall, one to their left and the other beside the door. A humidifier was attached to the wall to their right, a dining table slightly further back, and a door behind that. Beyond the living room, a small set of stairs went up to what appeared to be a kitchen. It was all thoroughly covered in dust and sand.

“It certainly needs a clean, but it’s nice,” Padmé said thoughtfully. “Nothing we can’t fix.”

Anakin walked up into the kitchen and placed the water on the bench and Obi-Wan put his bags down beside the door. Obi-Wan followed Anakin and inspected the kitchen. It had a stove, some benches, and a small refrigerator unit. None of which was powered at this moment. He then investigated through the door to the left of the kitchen, finding the pantry and sonic dishwasher, plus another door.

“Found the bathroom,” Obi-Wan called, pulling the new door open.

Returning to the lounge Padmé had opened the door beside the dining table, revealing a set of stairs leading down. “Shall we?” she asked.

Anakin shook his head. “I think we should bring our belongings in first. I wouldn’t want Tuskens or Jawas running off with all we have while we’re just wandering about in here.”

In immediate and unanimous agreement, they all returned outside, and in shifts, carried everything in, dumping it in a pile in the lounge. Anakin then pulled the speeder up closer to the house, before they all collapsed on the sandy couches.

After catching their breath, Padmé was up again, investigating the stairs behind the door. “Come on,” she called.

Anakin and Obi-Wan followed her down the stairs to the lower floor of the house. The stairs led to a small dark hallway with a door on either side of it. Obi-Wan flicked the light switch at the bottom of the stairwell, but nothing happened. Evidently everything in the house had been switched off.

“Oh, it is much cooler down here,” Padmé practically purred, pressing herself up against the cold stone walls. “Feels like heaven.”

Anakin stepped up to her, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You’ll get used to the heat.”

Padmé scrunched up her nose. “I think I’ll be happier when I’m not carrying around all this extra weight.”

Obi-Wan stepped past them both, and opened the door to the right. It was completely empty, bar for a pile of boxes in the corner. Stepping back, he tried the other door, and found a shadowybedroom, a double bed and a wardrobe filling the slightly larger space.

“Looks good,” Anakin said, appearing behind Obi-Wan and looking around. “At least we have somewhere to sleep tonight.”

“Well, the whole house looks pretty good, we just need to get it all running.” Padmé looked thoughtfully around the room. “I figure we can put the cot here once we buy one,” Padmé said cheerily, indicating an empty space opposite the bed. “I just need to have this baby. I am very sick of being pregnant.”

Obi-Wan frowned. “You do know there’s two, right?”

Padmé and Anakin turned to look at him.

“Two what?” Anakin asked.

Force help him. 

Obi-Wan gestured at Padmé. “Two babies.”

Both of them just stared at him for five long seconds.

“What,” Padmé deadpanned.

“You have two children,” Obi-Wan repeated.

Padmé turned on Anakin, suddenly exclaiming, “You complete _fuck_! It wasn’t enough to just get me _regular_ pregnant, you had to make _twins!_ ” Padmé turned on her heel and stalked off.

He had to press his lips together to stop the laugh that was bubbling up in his chest. Anakin just looked at him, completely affronted at Padmé’s reaction.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. “Apologies. I really thought you both knew.”

“Two,” Anakin breathed out, his eyes as wide as bowls. “Fuck. What are we going to do with _two?_ ”

Obi-Wan smiled, enamoured by Anakin’s perplexment. “Love and raise them?”

Anakin scowled at him. “How could I not have _noticed_?”

“They’re very closely entwined with one another,” Obi-Wan replied. “They do almost appear to be just one, bright child.”

Anakin, clearly not listening very hard, rubbed his bruised face, murmuring, “Fuck, Padmé is going to murder me.”

Obi-Wan, feeling the faint tremor of anxiety leeching along their bond, reached out and pulled Anakin’s hand from his face. “It’s okay,” Obi-Wan said quietly, and just held Anakin’s hand.

Anakin’s eyes darted down to their hands before swinging back up to Obi-Wan’s face. “Yeah?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “It’s just an adjustment. I’m sure once the shock wears off you’ll both be thrilled.”

Anakin took a step closer and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Obi-Wan could feel him slip into a very light meditation, just sifting through his emotions. When he opened his eyes again a few minutes later he was smiling. “Two.”

Obi-Wan grinned back.

“We’re going to need to revise our name list.” At that, Anakin pressed a brief kiss to Obi-Wan’s fingers and disappeared out the door to follow Padmé. 

Obi-Wan just smiled after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (for any interested, all Obi-Wan backstory is from the Jedi Apprentice books. I love Qui-Gon, but my god he's an asshole in those books.)


	7. Housewarming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh, things got a bit unexpectedly sexy (Padmé gets what Padmé wants I suppose), so I've put the rating up. So if sexy times are not for you, just skip past it, there's definitely more in the chapter than just that. Please also note that there is a panic attack towards the end of the chapter for those who don't want to read that either.
> 
> As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Also, please let me know if the sex scene is okay, as a completely useless aro-ace, I'm never quite sure if it's actually any good. Will be good to know if I should 'fade to black' rather than writing it in future chapters. Either way, enjoy!

Anakin darted up the stairs two at a time. Obi-Wan was right; He was thrilled about it, it had just been such a shock for both of them. They’d both been thinking and planning for only one child. Two was… wondrous.

He stepped out into the lounge, eyes blinking at the sudden light. Padmé was curled up on the couch opposite the door; she sat with her back to the wall and her legs tucked beneath her, a musty pillow grasped in her arms. Artoo and Threepio were in the kitchen chatting away at each other.

His elation immediately vanished at the expression on her face.

“Padmé?” Anakin asked.

Padmé looked up at Anakin and gave him a weak smile. “Hey Ani.”

Anakin approached and gingerly sat down beside her. Padmé’s fingers were clutched tightly around the old pillow, her knuckles white.

“Are you okay?” Anakin asked.

Padmé whispered, “No.” Her mouth turned down and she squeezed her eyes shut, hands loosening on the pillow to lift and cover her face.

Anakin immediately moved closer, wrapping his arms around her, desperate to help. Padmé curled into him, tucking her head beneath his chin, her fingers clenched into his shirt. She didn’t cry, but he could feel the frustration-anger-fear-love-confusion swirling through her.

Anakin looked up as Obi-Wan came up from the stairs. His eyes darted over the two of them, before sliding swiftly away.

“I think I’m going to have a walk around the property,” Obi-Wan said pointedly. “Artoo, Threepio, would you like to come with me? I’ll need a hand inspecting it all.”

“Master Obi-Wan,” Threepio began, “I would rather stay in out of the sand—”

Artoo, ever the more observant of the two, whistled angrily at Threepio, stating that Obi-Wan was clearly trying to give Anakin and Padmé some privacy. The phrase ‘you dim-witted cog-head’ might have been in there too. Anakin had to roll his eyes at both of them.

“Oh. Oh yes of course. Right away,” Threepio said, immediately moving to follow Obi-Wan and Artoo out the door. Obi-Wan shot him a final brief smile, before shutting the door with a soft thud.

Anakin returned his focus to Padmé. He ran his durasteel hand up and down her back, the other stroking through her loose hair. Anakin pressed a kiss to her head.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Anakin asked softly into her hair.

Padmé nodded minutely against his chest. She remained leaned against him for a few moments longer, before her fingers loosened their grip on him and she pulled back.

“Sorry.” She sniffed, frowning and evidently frustrated.

“It’s fine,” Anakin replied. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m scared!” Padmé exclaimed. “You’ve been freaking me out for months with your dreams that I’m going to die, and now there’s this unexpected change and we’re suddenly having twice the number of children I was excepting, and it’s just too much!”

“Padmé—” Anakin started, but she continued.

“I know it’s safe. I know childbirth deaths are rare, but it’s still scary,” Padmé let out. “I have to shove two live beings out of me! I’m happy to have them, and I love them, but we were not expecting any of this a year ago. It’s just so much, and now we’re out here, the middle of fucking nowhere, with me about to give birth, and then we have to raise them here because we’re fugitives!”

She broke down into frustrated tears, shoving her face back into his shirt.

“Oh, darling,” Anakin said and kissed her hair again. “I’m sorry for scaring you. We’ll work it out. We can find a doctor in town, we can make sure we do everything to make it as safe as possible.”

She took a deep breath, putting herself back together. “Okay. But you’ve got to promise me you are not going to talk to me about those dreams ever again,” Padmé told him. “If you’re worried, please talk to Obi-Wan. I just don’t want to hear it anymore. Okay?”

“Of course,” Anakin agreed. He leant down and brushed his lips against her cheek. “We’ll all be okay. I’m sure we’ll be great parents, and if we’re struggling, we always have Obi-Wan around, he’s a Certified Child Raiser. I’ve turned out… okay.” He nearly said great. Anakin didn’t feel that was quite the adjective he was after.

Padmé laughed softly, smiling up at him with red eyes and faintly tear stained cheeks. “You turned out amazing, sweetheart,” she said, twirling a finger around a strand of his hair and tugged gently. “Come here.”

Anakin leant down, picking up on the hint, and kissed her tenderly, overjoyed at the tiny exhale she let out at the contact. Padmé leant in to him, turning and pressing her front against him, her hands curling around his neck, lightly twining her fingers in his hair. She felt so soft against him, aside from the firm curve of her stomach poking into his stomach. Anakin’s hands slid down her waist, relishing how warm and alive she felt beneath him, able to feel her breathing softly. Padmé smelled of warm sand and her vanilla perfume, familiar and comforting. Her lips worked gently against his, seeking contentment and Anakin could feel the beginnings of warm stirrings in his stomach. Slowly, Padmé pulled back, dragging his lip with her.

“Force, you’re so beautiful,” Anakin sighed, running his fingers along her face.

Padmé beamed at him beneath her eyelashes. She leant forward again, kissing him more forcefully. Padmé placed her hands against his shoulders and pushed him backwards. Anakin fell back against the side of the couch and she crawled on top of him, soft brown curls hanging loose about her shoulders. Padmé hovered over him, eyes dark and thoughtful, tear tracks now faded from her face.  Anakin’s breath caught in his chest. Padmé was truly stunning; her pale skin was lightly flushed, pink artfully dusted across her cheeks, her chest rising and falling gently with her belly resting between them, Anakin able to feel the weight of it against him. He drank the image in greedily.

“So, names?” Anakin asked, attempting to focus, a stray hand gliding along her flank. “We need more.”

Padmé settled comfortably on his lap. “We definitely need more girl names. What about your mother’s name?”

Anakin scrunched up his nose, and felt a stab of pain; he kept forgetting his face was bruised, Obi-Wan was always much stronger than he let on. Anakin sighed, “I don’t think we should name them after anyone. We should let them be their own people. Start fresh.”

Padmé nodded thoughtfully. “That’s fair.” She danced her fingers across his chest and up Anakin’s neck, sending sparks through him. Padmé then gently rocked her hips against him, eyes half-lidded with a wicked expression on her face.

“You’re devious,” Anakin huffed, faintly breathless.

Padmé grinned salaciously at him, gently biting her lip.

Anakin wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and guided her towards him to kiss again. She came willingly, leaning forward and kissing him passionately. Anakin gently coaxed her mouth open, his tongue sliding along hers. Padmé periodically canted her hips against his groin, her breath grazing against his lips. Anakin’s pants were begining to feel much too tight. She turned her head and bumped his nose, Anakin letting out a grunt of pain, which turned much more sensual as Padmé pressed down on him again.

“Ani,” Padmé whispered against his mouth, “I want to make you feel good. Are you okay with—?”

Anakin pulled back, watching her carefully, his mouth stumbling over itself. “Yes, anything. Of course. I love you.”

She laughed before sobering. “I love you too.”

Anakin smiled, feeling the words build a fire in his chest. “Are you feeling okay now though? I don’t want you to want this for the wrong reasons.”

Padmé just looked at him, eyes soft, before pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I’m feeling wonderful, my love. I want this.”

Anakin nodded. He leant forward and kissed her lips, enjoying the sigh of contentment Padmé made. He kissed every part of her lips, desperate to taste every inch of her, before taking the kisses on a journey of her face. He trailed his mouth along her jaw, tracing the strong line all the way up to her ear. She squeaked as he lightly bit at her earlobe before sliding downward. Anakin latched onto the side of her neck, greedily tasting and sucking her skin. He wanted to leave a mark on her. He wanted to be able to see the evidence of this later. Anakin wanted Padmé to be his again. His hands wound up into her hair.

“Nuh-uh, Ani.” Padmé pulled back. “No mech-hand in the hair. You know the rules.”

He’d managed to tangle her hair in the mechanisms of his hand a couple of times in the past when he’d gotten carried away. It had taken them a good hour to separate the two each time. After the third incident, Padmé had put her foot down, initiating the rule that the robotic hand was not allowed anywhere near her hair.

Anakin dropped that hand to her waist, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry. Forgot.”

Padmé smirked. She then shimmied backwards down his legs, resting more on his thighs, her eyes watching him levelly. She traced a circle around the tie of his pants coyly aksing, “May I?”

Anakin let out a sharp breath. “Please.”

Padmé leant forward again, her body more arched this time as she tried to both kiss him while her hands attempted to break into his trousers. This was made much more difficult with her stomach in the way. Anakin, noticing the issue, leant forward to meet her mouth in the middle, throwing every inch of his adoration for her into each kiss.Fuck how he’d missed this.

His breath caught as he suddenly felt her hand wrap around his cock. He hummed low in his throat, his eyes falling shut as his head fell back against the wall. He heard Padmé let out a small laugh, followed by a firm, heavenly stroke and her mouth finding the corner of his.  Anakin let himself get lost in this feeling. He basked in how Padmé smelled, how warm she was against his thighs, the firm grip of her hand on his cock, and the affectionate kisses she covered him in. It was all Anakin could do to keep a grip on her sides, his fingers grasping tightly at her clothes. 

The heat that had curled in his chest was burning through his whole body now. Everything was hot and vivid, the whole of his attention fixed on every place Padmé's body touched his. It was utterly perfect. Padmé knew exactly what he liked and was using it mercilessly against him. A firm twist here, a long, tight stroke there, perfectly driving Anakin towards bliss. Unable to hold back any more, Anakin wrapped his arms around Padmé’s shoulders, clutching her close to him and burying his face in her neck and hair. He knew he wasn’t going to last. It had been too long and he wanted her desperately. He breathed heavily, pleasure reaching a breaking point. 

He loved Padmé so much. 

He was home.

Anakin gasped out Padmé’s name as he came in her hand. 

Padmé gently worked him through it, her free hand in his hair, stroking his head tenderly. He could hear her whispering sweet things in his ear, though his brain was not quite registering the exact words. 

Slowly he let go of her shoulders, and leant back on the couch, his eyes mapping every curve and colour of her face. How utterly stunning.

“Would you like…?” Anakin asked, still faintly breathless and running his fingers along Padmé’s cheek.

Padmé shook her head. “Not right now, and probably not until after the babies are born. Honestly, being this pregnant, sex sounds like the worst thing right now." She smiled reassuringly at him. "I just wanted you. I’d missed us.”

Anakin nodded and smiled,tugging her to lie beside him. “I missed us too.” 

Anakin turned and gently brushed his lips to hers, feeling the smile resting there. They both lay together on the couch, just breathing in each other’s air. Anakin stroked an absent hand over her stomach, basking in the glow of his children. Anakin himself felt as though he was practically glowing with love for Padmé and their babies.

“That must feel so strange,” Anakin said as he felt a small shove against his hand.

Padmé laughed. “You have no idea.” She then placed a hand on Anakin’s shoulder and pushed him upwards, sitting up with him. “Why don’t you go get the power and water on? I’d rather like a shower now. Also a chance to change my skirt.” Padmé winked at him and then tugged her clothes back into place. “I’ll try to unpack until then.” She paused, clearly thinking. “You should probably let Obi-Wan know he can come back now.”

Anakin winced. He had completely forgotten. “The couch probably wasn’t the place for that, was it?”

Padmé just shrugged. “He knew what was up.”

She gave him a final peck on the cheek before turning her attention to the pile of belongings still stacked at the door. He watched her work while readjusting his own clothes, his brain still running on half-thrusters until she shooed him away, smiling fondly after him.

Anakin felt amazing.

He suspected he had a loopy grin on his face as he went outside seeking the fuse box, water tank and pump. Anakin could faintly see Obi-Wan and the droids wandering about in the distance, the three of them occasionally pausing and investigating the vaporators. When Obi-Wan next looked up, Anakin waved vigorously. Obi-Wan waved back and then continued walking around the flat land, the droids trailing along behind him. 

Job done, Anakin circled the house discovering a small exterior room tucked around the back of the property. He entered the dim space and found a large water tank partially submerged into the ground, still holding around an eighth of a tank of water. Anakin inspected the water, smelling it carefully and checking the gauge on the side, and deemed it still safe to drink. They’d want to replace it fairly quickly though.

Anakin took the time to check each part for any imperfections, immediately identifying that they would need to buy a new filter; the current one was okay, but it was on its last legs. He then inspected all the piping he could find, discovering that a couple of sections would need patching to reduce leakage. Now happy and convinced it was all running safely, he found the pump controls and switched it all on. Nothing happened. For a moment Anakin was dumbfounded until he realised he hadn’t turned the power on. Rolling his eyes at his own idiocy, Anakin returned outside.

He Force jumped onto the roof, and found exactly what he was expecting; two rows of solar panels blinking in the sunlight. He performed another check. All panels appeared to be in working order, with none cracked or burnt out. The wiring was fine as well. Jumping back down, he returned inside the house, searching for the fuse box. After circling the lounge and kitchen, he entered the pantry and spotted the small box attached to the back wall.

Anakin flicked the switches on one by one, Padmé exclaiming from the other room when a light flickered on above her.

“Power’s on!” Anakin called and she whooped happily back at him. “Water will be on in a minute.”

He walked back through the lounge, Padmé, now in a pair of pants, was going the other way, dragging some pillows, sheets, and the duvet downstairs. Anakin resisted grinning at the dark bruise on the side of her neck. 

Anakin picked up the water given to them from Owen and quickly returned to the water storage room. He ensured the power was reaching each section, tipped the extra water in, and turned it all all. This time, it immediately started humming, lights clicking alight on the side. A final check showed all systems functioning properly and Anakin, very pleased with himself, went back inside.

Obi-Wan was back now, gently setting down a selection of vaporator parts on the lounge table.

“Oh, Anakin.” Obi-Wan looked up. “These seven are definitely broken, the rest seem to be fine? I probably missed a lot though.”

“I’ll take a look at them later,” Anakin agreed.

Padmé then roped them both into unpacking, and Anakin pointed both droids to a now powered charging station out by the speeder. They unpacked clothes into the drawers downstairs, Obi-Wan’s temporarily shoved in with theirs. Padmé put the cutlery and kitchenware she’d taken off the ship a few days ago and found homes for it all in the kitchen, along with some of the food Beru had given them. They then spent some time decorating with the bits and pieces they’d kept form the ship. A lamp, a couple of pillows, a few throw rugs and a selection of knick-knacks Anakin had collected over the years and passed on to Padmé. By the time they were finished, the sun had set completely and Anakin’s stomach was rumbling. 

He rustled through the meal Beru had given them, a pre-made bake, and reheated it in the oven. Once fed, the three of them collapsed onto the couches; Obi-Wan laying on the couch by the door, Anakin seated on the other with Padmé sprawled across his lap; the three of them just relaxing and chatting in the evening chill.

“We’re getting there, it just needs a bit more work,” Padmé breathed out, an absent hand wound up in Anakin’s hair, wrapping a curl about her fingers. It was such a soothing sensation. Anakin loved it when she played with his hair.

“We need a broom to get all this Sith-damned sand out of the house,” Anakin said darkly.

“It is quite a nice place, even with the sand,” Obi-Wan agreed, smiling at his complaint. “It was a good deal.”

Anakin grinned back. “You won’t be saying that after a few months here. The sand’s fucking irritating.” 

Padmé sent him a cheeky smile. “And gets everywhere?”

He knew she was never going to let that go. Anakin huffed indignantly. “It does. You’ll see.”

She just smiled affectionately at him.

“We can sort out what we need tomorrow. I’m happy to go into town,” Obi-Wan said, redirecting the conversation.

Anakin nodded absently, the heavy weight of exhaustion settling on his chest.

“I might come with you,” Padmé said and then yawned widely. “Ah. I think it’s time for bed.”

Padmé stood up from the couch, stretching her arms above he head, making a face as she did so. It really looked like the babies were weighing on her. Shaking it off, she turned and nodded her head in the direction of the door to downstairs. Padmé then rounded on Obi-Wan, her hands on her hips. “Coming?”

Obi-Wan blinked at her. “I was going to sleep here.”

“No, you’re not,” Padmé informed him. “Stay with us tonight, then we can sort you a proper bed tomorrow. You’re not sleeping on the floor, and you’re not staying on the couch."

Obi-Wan smiled at her. “Do I get a say in this?”

“Not at all,” she said, “come on.”

“It’s easier not to argue,” Anakin chimed in. He was pleased that Padmé was taking charge of Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan sighed and stood up. The three of them pattered downstairs, changed into sleeping clothes, and crawled into bed. Padmé ended up on on the far side, Anakin in the middle and Obi-Wan closest to the door, reluctantly climbing in beside them. Anakin was exhausted. Warm, and surrounded by his family, he dropped swiftly off to sleep.

* * *

Anakin was shocked away at sudden sound and movement beside him. His heart jumpstarted from surprise, eyes flashing open, and he watched Obi-Wan’s shadow silently dart out of the bedroom. Anakin blinked blearily after him, his brain still trying to process the change. Minutes passed, but Obi-Wan didn’t return.

Carefully sneaking out of bed, trying not to disturb Padmé, Anakin slid from beneath the covers and headed upstairs.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked quietly as he opened the door to the lounge.

The room was empty with no lights turned on. Anakin quickly flipped a light switch and checked the kitchen and bathroom. Dread settled into his being. Where was Obi-Wan?

He did a circuit around the house to double check Anakin hadn’t missed him. He hadn’t. His heart in his throat, Anakin scurried outside to the dark Tatooine night. 

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin called to the darkness.

There was a faint sound of movement to the right of him and a soft, "Here."

Anakin spun around to find Obi-Wan seated on the ground, his back resting up against the wall of the house. There was just enough light reaching them from the lights inside for Anakin to see him.

“Oh thank the Force,” Anakin breathed out.

Anakin’s mind had rushed through so many scenarios as to why Obi-Wan had vanished, each one worse than the last. Finding him safe flooded his entire body with relief. He was fine. He wasn’t dead. He hadn’t evaporated into the night.

Anakin stepped closer. “What are you doing out here?”

“Sorry I woke you,” Obi-Wan said, avoiding the question. “I should have slept on the couch.”

Anakin sat down on the sand and turned towards Obi-Wan. “What’s wrong? Is it Mustafar again?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “No, no. Evidently mentioning Melida/Daan the other day triggered the memories in my mind. I was dreaming about that.” 

Anakin had been fucking horrified and outraged at Obi-Wan’s past. He had always assumed that Obi-Wan had the very normal, linear experience of the other younglings and initiates at the Temple. Now to hear that Obi-Wan had been passed over and rejected time and time again, had been a complete shock.

It did, however, make an unfortunate amount of sense. Obi-Wan, had always strived to be the physical embodiment of the Jedi code, but deep down was someone who evidently felt unwanted and inadequate and was unexpectedly handed a child to raise days after the death of his Master. It made sense that Obi-Wan, terrified of failure and determined to do right by his new apprentice, had thrown himself head first into being the ideal Jedi. All Anakin had ever seen in his master was a smooth, perfect surface, with the occasional crack on the surface, particularly when Obi-Wan had one of his ‘do as I say, not as I do’ moments. That had always driven Anakin crazy.

Now, Anakin could now see how deep some of those cracks ran. He could see how little Obi-Wan actually valued himself. And it _hurt_. He had been completely unable to resist wrapping Obi-Wan in his arms yesterday, desperate to know that his friend was still with him. 

Now that this door to Obi-Wan’s past had been opened to him, Anakin was desperate to hear more. He was terrified to hear more.

“Tell me about it,” Anakin said.

Obi-Wan sighed. “I really don’t think you’ll like it.”

“Why not?” Anakin had a terrible feeling about that question.

Obi-Wan let out a resigned sigh, before continuing. 

“Master Jinn and I were tasked with going to Melida/Daan to find Master Tahl. She was sent to negotiate a treaty as the world was in a civil war between the Melida and the Daan, but she was taken hostage,” Obi-Wan explained quietly to the night. “We were also initially taken hostage by the Melida, but managed to escape and were rescued by the Young.

“We spent time with the Young, a group of the planet’s children who wanted to end the fighting. They helped us rescue Tahl and we provided them with some help with their strategies.” Obi-Wan spoke flatly, seemingly detaching himself from the story. “During this time I befriended Nield and Cerasi, who were the leaders of the group. They were determined to bring an end to the pointless war between the Melida and the Daan.” Obi-Wan smiled absently. “They were right; The war had gone on for so long that neither side knew what it was about any more, the endless deaths were pointless.”

So far, none if that seemed terrible. It seemed like a shitty mission if Anakin had ever heard one, but nothing awful.

“I decided to help,” Obi-Wan continued, his voice still subdued. “Going directly against Master Jinn’s wishes, I fought with the Young and I helped them plan and carry out missions. In the end, when Qui-Gon instructed that we were leaving, I refused to go with him. I’d promised to help, and I was not going to back out of it.”

Anakin felt a nervous churning in his stomach.

“Qui-Gon was furious at me, determined to get Tahl, who had been badly injured, back to the Temple. Finally, he told me that I could stay, but staying would mean I would no longer be a Jedi.” Obi-Wan took a deep breath. “In that moment, I saw a vision of what was to come if I did not stay; the death and destruction that would result.” He closed his eyes. “So I left the Order and Qui-Gon took Tahl back to Coruscant.”

“He _left you in a war zone!?_ He made you choose between _doing the right thing_ and _leaving the Order?!”_ Anakin was _furious_. “How old were you!?”

“Thirteen,” Obi-Wan said quietly.

“ _Fucking_ —” 

Anakin stood suddenly and reentered the house. He was absolutely livid and he didn’t want to stress Obi-Wan any more. 

Anakin knew the Council were a bunch of useless old Masters, too stuck in their ways, but this was something else! They allowed Master Jinn to abandon a _child_ in the middle of a civil war. That was _not_ how you treated your Padawan!

Any residual hero worship he had felt toward Qui-Gon had evaporated into the aether and he had never felt more thankful that it was Obi-Wan who had taken him in and trained him. Anakin paced round the living room, willing himself to calm down. Carefully controlling his emotions, not wanting to destroy anything and wake Padmé, Anakin took a few deep breaths in and out—

—And the _worst fucking part_ was the fact that Obi-Wan just sat there passively, completely unmoved! It was a stabbing pain in his stomach that Obi-Wan just didn’t see how _fucked up_ that was.  He stared up at the roof, trying to recenter himself. It took some time, but once he could breath properly again, he returned outside.

“How are you not upset about any of it?” Anakin asked, still faintly frustrated.

“We must focus on the here and now, Anakin, you know that.” Obi-Wan sighed. “It happened. Worrying about it won’t change it.”

Anakin _loathed_ that Jedi principle. His skin itched with the desire to wrap himself around Obi-Wan.

“I want to touch you,” Anakin informed him. “Is that okay?”

Obi-Wan paused, but nodded. Anakin sat down beside him, pressing the entire left-hand side of his body against Obi-Wan. He wrapped his left arm around his friend’s shoulders and pressed his face into Obi-Wan’s hair. Anakin found this much more comforting. He hoped Obi-Wan got as much out of it as he did.

“You deserve so much better, Obi-Wan,” Anakin said.

Obi-Wan stiffened beside him.

“I’m so sorry all of that happened to you,” He continued. “You’re so good, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan was silent beside him, still tense, before he murmured, “It really doesn’t matter.”

“It does,” Anakin told him firmly. “You deserved better.”

“It was my fault,” Obi-Wan said. “My actions got me into those situations.”

If Anakin ever got his hands on the people who had created this mentality within Obi-Wan, he was going to fucking murder them. Maybe not murder. Punch. Punch really hard. With his durasteel hand.

Anakin tried again. “Would you have ever treated me like that? Just because of a choice I made?”

“No,” Obi-Wan admitted softly.

“Right,” Anakin said finally. He’d already known that would be the answer, but it was an easy trap for him to fall into. For Force’s sake, Obi-Wan hadn’t turned his back on him and he’d gone _full Dark Side_. 

Anakin pressed on. “Was it Master Jinn you were dreaming about?” 

Obi-Wan shook his head. “No. I was dreaming about after.” 

“What happened?” Anakin asked.

“Cerasi died,” Obi-Wan whispered. “We won the civil war, but then the in-fighting began. Nield turned against Cerasi and I. He wanted revenge against the Elders and when he destroyed the Halls of Evidence, the Elders rose up again. Both sides fought, and Cerasi tried to stop the fighting, but… she was killed.” Obi-Wan exhaled, sounding defeated. “She died in my arms. Just like Siri. Just like Qui-Gon. Just like Satine…” Anakin thought he heard a whispered ‘You and Padmé’. 

His heart clenched. 

" _Obi-Wan,_ ” Anakin cried softly and it took every inch of Anakin’s willpower not to kiss Obi-Wan. Instead, he buried his face in Obi-Wan’s ginger hair, ignoring the pain in his face at the action.

Anakin had never put those things together before. That was an awful number of people that Obi-Wan had loved, dying in front of him, unable to save them. Anakin’s heart had shattered when his Mom had died in his arms. To have a list of people like that was fucking horrific. 

Anakin lightened his shielding around his bond to Obi-Wan, hoping to send warm, soothing feelings toward him, but suddenly froze; at the change in his shielding, Anakin could suddenly feel the turmoil within Obi-Wan, the awful cold, dark feelings slipping through the cracks.

Anakin spoke quietly, hesitant, “Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan was vibrating with tension beside him. His hands shook where they were curled, his eyes squeezed shut and breath coming erratically. Anakin tensed at the thin stream of panic he was feeling from Obi-Wan. It felt horrifyingly similar to how he felt before he fell.

“Obi-Wan I need you to breathe,” Anakin said urgently.

He just shook his head. 

“Look at me, Obi-Wan.”

Gaining no response, Anakin moved quickly, scrambling to kneel directly in front of Obi-Wan, tamping down on his own panic. Anakin took his friend’s hands in his own, Obi-Wan’s fingers wrapping tightly around his. Anakin had had a few clones collapse like this on his watch, he knew what to do.

“Look at me,” Anakin ordered.

Obi-Wan’s blue-green eyes flashed open, wide and fearful.

“I’m here, Obi-Wan,” Anakin said soothingly. “You’re okay. Breathe.”

Obi-Wan was unresponsive, his expression distant. The sand around them was vibrating forcefully, grains whipping up around them.

Anakin kept trying, voice calm, “Obi-Wan, I want you to listen to me.” Anakin pressed Obi-Wan’s hands to his own chest. “Feel me breathing. Breathe with me.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes flickered.

“You’re safe,” Anakin continued. “We’re on Tatooine, we’re fine, Padmé is fine, nothing is wrong. Come back to me. Breathe.” Anakin sent waves of comfort and safety down their bond, attempting to soothe the spikes of anxiety. Slowly, over a few minutes of Anakin's calm litany, Obi-Wan calmed his breathing to match Anakin’s, and relaxed again, bit by bit. 

Obi-Wan, now back with Anakin, slumped, exhausted, and fell forward into Anakin’s arms. Obi-Wan was warm in his arms, his face pressed up against Anakin’s neck.

“Apologies,” Obi-Wan said into his skin.

“It’s fine,” Anakin was too focused on his joy that Obi-Wan was, of his own volition, curled up in his arms. It warmed his heart in ways he couldn’t quite describe.

Obi-Wan sighed. “You shouldn’t have to deal with that.” 

Anakin just smiled. “I want to. We’ve talked about this. We’re helping each other.”

Obi-Wan just hummed against him.

After a few moments, Anakin spoke again. “How are you feeling?”

Obi-Wan just laughed weakly. That wasn’t a great sign.

“Shall we go back to bed?” Anakin asked, at a bit of a loss of what to do.

“I don’t feel like sleeping,” Obi-Wan returned.

Anakin could feel how much of a lie that was. Exhaustion was pouring off of him into the Force, swamping the air around them with thick fatigue. “You don’t have to sleep. Just come back to bed.”

Obi-Wan nodded and pulled back, Anakin immediately feeling the loss. They stood up, Anakin trying to subtly support his friend, and slowly went back into the house and downstairs to bed to where Padmé was still fast asleep, curled around her pillow. Anakin climbed back in first, shimmying into the middle, Obi-Wan tentatively following behind. 

“Come here?” Anakin offered quietly. Obi-Wan paused for a moment, before he slid up next to Anakin. 

Anakin wrapped an arm around him, and was elated at the fact Obi-Wan had taken him up on the offer. He was feeling settled within himself in a way he hadn’t been for a long time. The knowledge that both Padmé and Obi-Wan had relaxed around him, willing to trust him again, had uncoiled something tangled within him. He felt secure in the fact that they loved him. That they cared.

Obi-Wan tucked in unusually close, his face resting against Anakin’s chest and a hand tangled in his shirt. “Thank you, Anakin,” Obi-Wan murmured to the room.

He couldn’t do any more to help Obi-Wan just now. He wanted to fight every single person that had ever hurt his old Master. He wanted to keep Obi-Wan safe and secure in his arms. Keep Padmé safe with him here. 

It wasn’t ideal, but in a terrible, round-about way, Anakin had ended up with all he ever wanted; Obi-Wan and Padmé and their children, free of the Jedi, out on their own, just living. He hated what it had taken to get them here, and he desperately wished it had come about in another way, but here they were.

“Anytime,” Anakin said, pushing his gloomy thoughts away and basking in the feeling of being surrounded by the two people he loved the most. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply, and quickly dropped back into slumber.


	8. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit late, I'm having a really shitty and busy week, and it is a goddamn miracle that this chapter is here at all. I'm not totally happy with it, but it will do for now. I may fiddle with it in the future. 
> 
> We have circled back to Padmé, who continues to be amazing. As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Padmé woke slowly. She was warm and happily swimming in blankets with her arms wrapped around her pillow. She felt terribly content but wanted Anakin in her arms too.  Padmé rolled over and sat up slightly, ready to slip into Anakin’s embrace. Instead, she found Anakin and Obi-Wan, both completely dead to the world, snuggled up together. Obi-Wan had his face squashed up against Anakin’s throat, and Anakin was breathing in strands of ginger hair, both with their arms wrapped around one another. Oh goodness that was cute. It warmed her heart and an involuntary smile slipped onto her face. It was good that they were both relaxing around each other again. Padmé frowned when she noticed the sand littering both their sleeping clothes. That at least didn’t bode particularly well. 

Leaving them both to sleep, Padmé snuck upstairs to make use of this quiet time. She looped around the entire house, pad in hand and eating a piece of fruit, creating a shopping list for when they all went into town once the boys were up out of bed.

They needed a vast selection of food, Padmé just writing ‘Food!!!!!’ on the pad and underlining it a few times. After filtering through the kitchen, and removing what was damaged, it seemed they needed a saucepan or two, a chopping board and some actually sharp knives. She added a selection of cleaning materials and toiletries to the list, and underlined the word ‘broom’, well aware that Anakin wanted the dust and sand out of the house as soon as physically possible. Tea towels were needed, Obi-Wan needed a bed, and Padmé wanted to at least partly prepare for her children, adding ‘baby things’ to the list. 

Oh, and a doctor. That’s what she really wanted to sort out today.

She still felt somewhat embarrassed at her outburst yesterday. It had just been so fucking unexpected when Obi-Wan had dropped that knowledge on them. It made sense, considering how big she was, and all the movement going on with them, but fuck it had felt like a cold bucket of water over her head when he'd said it.

After having her minor meltdown and thoroughly seducing Anakin, she felt much more settled and prepared. Also, Padmé was more than ready to meet her children. She had been anticipating it for nearly 9 months now, and she was ready for them both. She was desperate to hold them in her arms, and particularly, to not have them in her anymore. Padmé was _very_ ready to have her body back to herself again; Her back and hips near constantly ached and she struggled to get comfortable any longer. She was not looking forward to at least a couple more weeks of this.

Her eyes fell on the vaporator parts laying on the lounge table. Anakin still had a set of tools with them, so they didn’t need those, but he probably had some items he needed bought. Padmé hoped the money they had left from what she’d taken out on Coruscant would be enough to keep them going until they had the farm running properly.

She sighed and stared at the room around her thoughtfully.

The door to downstairs swung open and she saw Anakin and Obi-Wan walk into the room, both fully dressed but with ridiculous bed hair. She had to smile at them.

“Morning!” Anakin said brightly, stepping up and kissing her briefly. The bruising on his face no longer bright red, now fading to a mottled purple.

Padmé smiled at him and returned the kiss before asking them both, “Sleep well?”

The pair of them made non-committal noises. 

Padmé put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows.

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan nervously, who sighed, replying, “I woke Anakin up. I was having a bad night.”

Padmé relaxed. “Everything okay?”

“Fine.”

Anakin’s face told her it clearly wasn’t fine, and she resolved to corner both of them later. Divide and conquer.

“Hm. Well, we need to go into town.” She deflected and tossed them a piece of fruit each. “That’s all we’ve got until we go shopping.” Padmé then handed Anakin the list she had made. “Add anything you need. Both of you. I’m going to get dressed.”

Padmé went downstairs and changed quickly into one of the loose outfits they’d bought in Mos Eisley. Hair pulled into a single tail on the top of her head, she joined back up with Anakin and Obi-Wan, each of them concealing a blaster under their robes before Padmé ushered them out to the speeder.

“Threepio you’re in charge!” Padmé called back into the house, ignoring Artoo’s indignant beeps.

* * *

Once in Mos Espa they began their shop. Padmé led, sorting out cleaning materials, kitchenware and other necessities from a selection of stalls on the streets, with Anakin happily bartering for it all. They then went looking for a bed for Obi-Wan and cribs for the babies. They found a furniture store on the edge of the shopping district, finding the materials for the cribs easily (though they would have to assemble them on their own) but could not find a bed for Obi-Wan. Anakin left them to sort it out while he filtered through the junk at the back of the shop.

“All out,” the salesman said. “We’ve got a thin mattress, but no frames for another month or so. The bantha-shit in the Core is disrupting everything.”

“A mattress will be fine,” Obi-Wan said.

Padmé frowned. “Are you sure?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “We can get the frame later. It won’t kill me.”

Padmé reluctantly agreed and they paid, the owner organising to have all the materials out the back for pick up when they were ready later.

Heading back out on the the street, Padmé decided they should get some lunch, her stomach rumbling and feeling a desperate need for a glass of water. Anakin nodded and then paused at a young man struggling futilely with a swoop bike, swearing loudly when it wouldn’t start. His tunics were filthy with oil, and smudged along his tan skin with some spattered in his brown hair.

“What’s up?” Anakin said, hands on his hips, clearly physically unable to walk past malfunctioning tech.

“Stupid—” the boy kicked the bike, “—kriffing thing won’t start!”

Anakin nodded. “Can I have a look?”

He huffed. “Be my guest. You can’t make it any worse.”

Anakin stooped down beside the bike, fingers deftly filling with the machinery. Padmé and Obi-Wan watched on quietly, Padmé linking her arm into his and leaning up against him. This planet was so warm, and with the extra weight, it was killing her. 

“What’s next on the list?” Obi-Wan asked, silently supporting her weight.

Padmé pulled up the pad. “Let’s see. Uh, lunch, then a doctor and food. After that we can go home and get cleaning.”

Obi-Wan nodded.

“There!” Anakin said proudly, standing up again. “That should work now.”

The lad looked hopeful and swung a leg over the bike, attempting again to turn it on. The engine flickered on without incident.

“Dang,” he said, grinning, “I thought this thing was dead!” He turned on Anakin, “Thank you! What’s your name?”

“Uh, Seripas,” Anakin stumbled over his name. He clearly hadn’t been ready for that one.

“Seripas, you’re a fucking genius.” The kid dug around in his pocket and pulled out some money, shoving it in Anakin’s hand. “You saved my life.”

He kicked the swoop into gear and sped off into the crowds. Anakin just blinked after him, brushing kicked up sand from his face before looking down at the money in his hand.

“Good job, darling,” Padmé said. “Come on, let’s eat; You’re evidently buying.”

Anakin just smiled at her and pocketed the money. They explored the town some more until they found a medium-sized diner spread over the inside a short building and the streets outside. Padmé snagged them a table outside and Anakin and Obi-Wan went to sort food. They returned with a plate of mystery meats and bread, plus some water, the three of them tucking in happily. It was warm and rich, melting in her mouth. It was _good_.

“I’m going to go see if anyone here knows a doctor,” Padmé said after finishing her portion. “I’ll just be inside.”

Padmé entered the diner, and boy was it was quite the sight. The walls were lined with a variety of unsavoury looking characters, clearly from off-world, interspaced with obvious locals. Most locals were tucked into the back corner, with the off-worlders filling up the rest of the space with raucous laughter and secretive whispers. Padmé put her bets on them mostly being bounty hunters or in other barely-legal professions.

“Excuse me,” Padmé said, drawing the attention of a server behind the bar to the left of the space.

The bartender gave her a quick once over before smiling. “What’s up, missy?”

“I was wondering if you know a local doctor?” Padmé indicated at her body. “I'm going to be needing one quite soon.”

The bartender huffed out a laugh, “That you do. Yeah, Brato is a good doctor. He just came in to check up on me.” He lifted up his left arm, showing a mostly healed blaster wound, “Danger of the business. He might still be about.” Suddenly his voice projected across the space. “Brato!” the bartender called.

There was no change in the clientele of the diner, until a tall Zabrak man approached the bar, his face and body covered in the distinctive black and orange markings of his race.

“You called, Gorin?” the Zabrak asked.

“Little lady here needs a doctor,” Gorin informed him. “Brato Bavanth, meet…?”

Padmé jumped in. “Aurra Lars.”

Brato held out a hand which Padmé shook, warm and firm. “Good to meet you, Aurra. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I’m due to give birth in the next few weeks, and I would rather like a doctor present,” Padmé informed him. “I doubt my husband is going to be of much use.”

Brato smiled. “They are often not at this end of the pregnancy. May we go speak somewhere?”

“Yes, outside.” Padmé turned and waved her thanks to the bartender. Brato followed her out to sit at the table with Anakin and Obi-Wan. She didn’t miss the tiny twitch from Obi-Wan at her companion. To be fair, Tatooine and Zabraks did not have a good history for him.

“Brato, this is my husband, Seripas, and our friend, Hondo,” Padmé said, sitting them both down. “This is Brato, he’s a doctor.”

Obi-Wan and Anakin welcomed the newcomer warmly, before the discussion veered onto her pregnancy; when did it happen, when were they due, family history, any unusual symptoms and everything in between. Brato, in Padmé’s opinion, came across as highly competent and it made her feel much more relaxed about it all. They agreed that Brato would come visit them at home once a week until the labour hit. Once the labour started, Brato would try to get to them as soon as he could, assuring Padmé that it was a long process, especially for first children, so even if he was running late it wouldn’t be an issue. Once it was all agreed and costs had been discussed, Brato left them, indicating he had another appointment soon. As they watched him disappear into the crowd, Padmé felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. 

“Well, that’s sorted,” Anakin said. “Is it just food left on your list?”

“Yeah,” Padmé agreed. “Food and then picking up the cots and mattress.”

The three of them spent a good hour in the food markets, stocking up on lots of non-perishables, and a lesser selection of perishable meats, fruits and vegetables. All three agreed it was best if they had food they could fall back on if anything went to shit while living out there. Anakin also became distracted, discovering a stall with some rather nice tools, Anakin practically drooling over them. Anakin muttered something about coming back for them one day before refocusing himself. It made Padmé smile. Once they were loaded up with food, they returned to the speeder, still thankfully where they left it, and swung by the furniture shop. As promised, the cribs parts and the mattress were waiting out the back for them which Obi-Wan and Anakin carefully loaded into the back of the speeder. She noticed how carefully they both moved it all, neither of them calling on the Force to help them at all. They were terribly good at pretending to be average moisture farmers.

Once home, they spent the afternoon sorting out what they’d bought. All food and new supplies were put where they should be, the crib materials were leant up against the wall to be dealt with tomorrow, and Obi-Wan’s mattress was carefully carried downstairs by the two of them.

Later, after it was all organised, Padmé stood at the bench, carefully organising ingredients for dinner. The stock they had purchased earlier was quite nice. Padmé lined up each vegetable and picked up a knife, carefully slicing the first orange vegetable carefully.

Hands slithered around her waist, and a warm weight settled against her back. “Hello Ani.” Padmé smiled, continuing to slice the goorun.

“Hey,” Anakin murmured into her hair, fingers dancing up her sides. “What are you making?”

“Vegetable bake. Very thrilling.”

“Mmmhmm.” 

Padmé felt Anakin nose his way through her hair, snuffling around to the right hand side of her neck. “What are you up to?” Padmé put the knife down, sensing where he was going.

A huff against her neck. “Nothing.”

Padmé laughed, “I don’t believe yo—ah!” She inhaled sharply as he pulled the lobe of her ear into his mouth. Anakin’s left hand slithered into her hair, tugging gently, exposing her neck further. His mouth was warm as he gently dragged his teeth along her skin. Added to the slight pressure in her hair, she melted beneath him, instinctively leaning back against Anakin. 

Dinner. As lovely as the attention was, she was busy.

“Ani, darling, love,” she stammered out, “this is neither the time nor the place.” Padmé manoeuvred her head out of his grasp. “Later, sweetheart. Where have you left Obi-Wan?”

Anakin sighed and pulled back, sneaking in a final brush of lips against her cheek. “He fell asleep on the couch.”

“Oh, good,” Padmé said, turning in his embrace so she could look up at him. Anakin’s hair was messy about his face, clearly windblown from spending so much time outside today. Padmé pressed an apologetic kiss to Anakin’s chin. “He needs more sleep.”

“Would you like some help?” Anakin asked.

“Always.” Padmé wriggled out of his grasp and handed Anakin the knife she had been using. “Here. Slice up the vegetables.”

“What’s up with Obi-Wan?” Padmé finally asked Anakin as they prepared dinner at the bench. She’d been waiting for a quiet moment to ask since this morning. Anakin carefully chopped the vegetables into thin slices and briefly relayed what Obi-Wan had talked to him about over the last couple of days. Padmé was saddened to hear what he had gone through.

“I just can’t believe Qui-Gon was allowed to treat him like that,” Padmé said quietly at the end of the retelling.

Anakin nodded. “Me neither.”

“It wasn’t that terrible,” Obi-Wan said from behind them, and both spun around to face him. “Qui-Gon was a good Master, most of the time.”

“I’m sure he was,” Padmé said, “but that doesn’t negate the bad things he did do. They still matter.”

“I know,” Obi-Wan agreed. “But it was a long time ago and I’ve forgiven him for it.”

Padmé was thoughtful for a moment before she nodded. “Okay.” She didn’t completely agree, but there was not much point in arguing it with him. In reality, Padmé hadn’t known Qui-Gon all that well before his death. She’d mainly found him stubborn and frustrating, though she suspected he would have said the same of her.

Anakin then stepped away from the bench, placing the knife down and joining Obi-Wan at the bottom of the stairs to the lounge. 

“How are you?” Anakin asked quietly.

Obi-Wan looked away. “I was just feeling rather overwhelmed last night. I’m okay now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Anakin!” Obi-Wan bit back. “It’s fine!”

Padmé resisted sighing and leant back against the bench. They needed to deal with this. They needed to deal with each other. This ongoing dance needed to be sorted out between the pair of them. 

Anakin folded his arms. “Don’t do that.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Don’t _lie_ to me!” Anakin exclaimed. “Don’t _block me out_!”

Obi-Wan scowled and turned to go. “Just let me be.”

“No!” Anakin grabbed his arm. “Why can’t you accept that we want to help!?”

“Because I don’t deserve it!” Obi-Wan yelled, wrenching his arm away from Anakin. “I failed you!”

Padmé's eyes widened. And there it was.

Anakin was stunned. “How—?”

“I should have done _better!_ I should have trained you better! I should have done something about Palpatine! I knew there was something untoward going on there! So many things that I—!” Obi-Wan stopped his tirade mid-sentence, suddenly talking softly. “You should have had someone experienced train you. It should have been Qui-Gon… not me. I’m sorry.”

Anakin was silent for a moment, his entire body completely still. No-one had thrown any punches yet and Padmé was hopeful they would talk this out. Obi-Wan made to move away at the silence but Anakin grabbed his hand again.

“ _Anakin—!_ ” 

“You were the best Master I could have ever had," Anakin said seriously, eyes locked onto Obi-Wan’s. “I’m glad it was you. I was upset to begin with after Naboo, but we both got past that.” Anakin was slowly tugging Obi-Wan closer to himself, and Obi-Wan, wide eyed and limp, absently allowed it. “My fall wasn’t on you. They were my stupid fucking mistakes, not yours. You have always tried your hardest with me and I—I know I can be a handful, and we have _both_ fucked up in the past, but I wouldn’t want to change anything, Obi-Wan.”

Padmé resisted applauding. Look at the pair of them, talking candidly. Miracle of miracles.

“Not anything?” Obi-Wan asked quietly.

Anakin gave him a weak smile, “Well, not falling and not destroying the Jedi would have been infinitely better, but no. I’d keep it all to keep you.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes looked distinctly wet, staring hopefully at Anakin. Anakin, unable to stand that watery gaze, tugged Obi-Wan closer, pulling him in for a hug. Obi-Wan shattered in his arms, collapsing into tears and Anakin’s embrace. They folded together like a sheet caught in a breeze, crinkled and falling bonelessly into one another. Obi-Wan’s fingers gripped, white knuckled, to Anakin’s shirt with his face buried in the front of his chest. Padmé had to look away, feeling her eyes begin to itch at the sight. 

Gods that was so fucked up. The fact that Obi-Wan was crying over the fact someone had expressed basic admiration and affection for him was heartbreaking. That _neither of them_ had ever spoken about how much they adored each other was ridiculous. Padmé resolved to praise Obi-Wan more often regardless. She already did it for Anakin, knowing how he lit up at the compliments, so it would be easy to do with Obi-Wan as well. While the Jedi had been an incredible group of people, skilled in many areas and were, overall, terribly impressive, they sometimes just skipped right over the fundamental needs of their people. Beings, of all kinds, needed to feel appreciated and cared for. This had somehow been completely missed on Obi-Wan and it wasn’t right. 

Padmé finished chopping the vegetables, before methodically laying them in the pot. She layered cheese and vegetables over one another, interspacing with leafy vegetables. As she put it into the oven the two boys joined her the kitchen.

“My apologies, I distracted your helper,” Obi-Wan said beside her.

“It’s no problem. You needed him more just now.” Padmé righted herself and smiled at him. “Besides, I’m pregnant, not an invalid. I _can_ make dinner on my own.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“I know you didn’t.” Padmé placed a hand on his cheek and diverted the conversation. “We both want you to be happy. You’re a wonderful person, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan’s face did a funny little spasm, unsure how to respond. She grinned at the expression before she leant up and pressed a brief kiss to his left cheek. “Come on. Let’s all go sit down until dinner is ready.” Obi-Wan looked distinctly nervous after the peck, blue eyes fluttering over to Anakin. 

Hm. Padmé filtered that information away. 

Dinner passed without incident and before long they were headed downstairs to bed. 

“Are you sure you are okay to just sleep on the mattress?” Padmé asked as Obi-Wan made to enter the other downstairs room.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said. “I’ve certainly slept on worse over the last few years.”

Padmé just nodded, accepting it. Her concern wasn’t really about the bed. She was worried about whether or not he’d _actually_ sleep if left on his own. Padmé had been trying to give him the easy option of hopping in with them.

“Goodnight.” Obi-Wan nodded to them both, and vanished into the room.

Anakin and Padmé parroted the sentiment back and then Anakin pressed his lips together, his face reflecting her thoughts perfectly. Padmé nodded her head at their own door and they went in together. Padmé curled up in the centre of the bed, Anakin crawling in to face her, their bodies curved like two opposite crescent moons.

“Think he’ll be okay?” Padmé asked in a whisper.

Anakin shrugged. “We’ll see.” He then leant in for a brief press of lips. “‘Night, love.”

“Love you,” Padmé said and snuggled in closer, dropping swiftly into sleep.

* * *

The next day, after both she and Anakin had enjoyed a full night's sleep and Obi-Wan seemed to have slept, they pottered around the house continuing to set up the house. Anakin spent the morning fixing the broken vaporator sections and installing them back on the whole machine out on the sands. Padmé and Obi-Wan spent the morning sweeping and dusting, finally emptying the house of lingering sand and other grit. By the time lunch was had, the house was clean and Anakin was distinctly happier. The sand didn’t get to her as it did him, but it made Anakin happy.

After lunch, Padmé sat on the couch watching Anakin and Obi-Wan struggle to put a crib together. She enjoyed watching the two of them bicker about how best to attach one section to another. Anakin, took charge and laid all the beams together on the floor in front of them, and then paused.

“I think that looks right,” Anakin said proudly, sitting back on his heels.

Obi-Wan was silent for a few moments inspecting the layout. He nodded slowly, “I think you’re right?”

Anakin shrugged. “We can only try it. Could you go get a hammer? I think I saw one in your bedroom.”

“Of course.” Obi-Wan stood up and headed through the door and down the stairs.

Padmé smiled at Anakin when he looked at her, a warm expression on his face as his eyes went a bit distant, focusing elsewhere.

Then something changed.

Anakin’s eyes turned hard as flint. His whole body stiffened, going from soft relaxation to sharp edges. The atmosphere in the room plummeted into darkness.

“Ani?” Padmé asked, concerned. She had no idea what had caused this sudden shift.

Anakin clenched his jaw and hands before he suddenly stood up and strode outside, the door banging shut loudly behind him.

_What in the hells_?

Padmé stood up quickly, hurriedly pulling open the door to downstairs. “Obi-Wan!” she yelled, voice faintly panicked. “I need you up here _now_!”

Obi-Wan was at the top of the stairs in moments, face flushed with concern, the hammer in hand. “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s up with Anakin,” Padmé said quickly, grabbing Obi-Wan’s hand and dragging him outside behind her. 

Padmé and Obi-Wan stood side by side, Padmé’s hand still clasped in his, watching Anakin pace around the yard, spitting up sand around him. She had absolutely no idea what had done that. Obi-Wan was frowning, watching the strange behaviour. He obviously found it as peculiar as she did.

“Did something happen?” Obi-Wan asked her, not taking his eyes from Anakin.

She shook her head. “Nothing, as far as I know.”

Obi-Wan stared fixedly at him for a few moments longer when something clicked on his face. “Anakin!” Obi-Wan yelled. “Put up your shields!”

Anakin flashed a glare at Obi-Wan, and Padmé felt her stomach drop at the dark anger in his eyes. She stepped subtly closer to Obi-Wan, tightening her grip on his hand, the nervous energy floating around them all put her on edge. Padmé hated to admit it, but she was scared. Her heart sat in her throat, pumping furiously.

After a few minutes, the sand settled back down and Anakin stood perfectly still on the desert flats, staring down at the ground around him. Padmé and Obi-Wan both gave him time to calm himself. Eventually, Anakin turned his attention to them, his eyebrows knitted together. He came over to the two of them, walking slowly, his shoulders slumped and eyes wet.

“What was that about?” Padmé asked gently when he came to a stop before them.

Anakin blinked, a stray tear escaping his eye, “I—I don’t know.”

“What were you doing before that?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin licked his lips, nervous, his hands wringing together, “I was waiting for you to come back with the hammer. Padmé was just sitting on the couch and I wanted to feel the babies. I dropped my shields to feel out for them—” Anakin frowned, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “Then it all went a bit sideways. I was furious about everything; that you hadn’t told us they were twins at the start; about everything you told me about Melida/Daan and Qui-Gon; about the fact we couldn’t put the crib together. I _knew_ it was strange and I didn’t want to break anything or hurt either of you. So I went outside.” Anakin blinked unhappily at the both of them. “I just… snapped?”

Obi-Wan hummed quietly, thinking.

Padmé stepped forward, letting go of Obi-Wan, all of her fear gone and replaced entirely with worry. She took Anakin’s hand in her own, his fingers shaking slightly. Anakin smiled down at her and then rested his chin on her head.

“You made the right choice, Ani,” Padmé soothed. “Distancing yourself was a good idea.”

“Thank you.” His voice vibrated through her head. Padmé stepped closer still, allowing Anakin to wrap an arm about her waist, Padmé was half turned into her husband, and half turned to look at Obi-Wan. Anakin slowly relaxed against her, his hands not longer vibrating in hers.

“I have… a suspicion,” Obi-Wan said finally.

“What—?” Anakin started.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I’ll share it once I’m certain. I don’t want to give you more to worry about if I’m wrong." Obi-Wan paused. "I just—I want you to keep your shields up. Maybe change your shield configuration as well.”

Anakin frowned, but nodded slowly.

Obi-Wan stepped forward and cupped his hand against Anakin’s face. “Thank you for trusting me.”

Anakin smiled. “Of course.”

Padmé watched on, lost in the warm expression on Obi-Wan’s face, easily imagining Obi-Wan leaning into Anakin’s lips. Anakin may not believe that Obi-Wan loved him romantically, but Padmé had very few doubts about it. Whether Obi-Wan knew it was anyone’s guess. Padmé very firmly shoved aside the spike of warmth caused by her imagination and the feeling of being surrounded by her two boys. Padmé felt Anakin’s focus slide down to her, a thoughtful glint in his eye.

Obi-Wan looked between them briefly, then turned and walked back toward the house, saying, “Time to have another go at the crib.”

Once the door was closed, Anakin turned to Padmé, a suggestive tone lacing his words. “What were you just thinking about?”

Padmé had to press her lips together to keep from laughing, but felt her lips curl into a smile regardless. She felt almost dizzy from the erratic emotional changes over the past half hour.

“What?” Anakin pressed, smiling and leaning down; he kissed her cheek and nosed along her face, “What is it?”

“Okay! Okay!” Padmé giggled when he began mouthing at her forehead. “I give up!”

Anakin pulled back, smiling, a contrast to the visible tear tracks still on his face. It was hard to believe he’d literally just been furiously pacing the yard, looking as though he was ready to murder someone not five minutes before.

“I was thinking about Obi-Wan kissing you,” Padmé whispered. “It was hot, leave me alone!”

Anakin went completely still and for a moment Padmé thought she had said the wrong thing.

Suddenly, he burst out laughing, a bright grin lighting up his entire face. Anakin gathering her into his arms, his hands on her ribs; before he picked her up a short ways from the ground and gently swung her around in a circle.

“Anakin!” Padmé cried out, hands gripping his shoulders, joy and adrenaline flooding her system. She shrieked as he did it again, her hair catching in the breeze behind her. On the third spin she laughed out, “Put me down, Ani!”

Anakin laughed as he put her feet back on solid ground, Padmé’s hair now wild about her face and she could feel the flush crawling up her face. 

“You’re perfect, Padmé.” Anakin beamed. “I love you so kriffing much.”

Padmé retuned his sentiment and stood up on her toes to kiss him properly. Padmé sighed happily against his lips. They may be living in the back end of nowhere, but they at least had each other. Obi-Wan’s dreams hadn’t come to pass and they were alive and safe from Palpatine.

“Let’s go help Obi-Wan,” Padmé said. “We’re going to need those cribs sorted out.”

“Alright,” Anakin agreed.  


* * *

The next couple of weeks passed quickly. The three of them falling into a routine. Padmé checked on the vaporators every morning with Threepio, Anakin at midday, and Obi-Wan in the evening. If there was anything wrong then Anakin was sent out to fiddle with it until it decided to work again, or else it was scrapped and repurposed.

They took turns cooking and cleaning and going into town on errands. Anakin had become a bit of a wonder to the locals. Once knowledge of his emergency swoop fixing got around, a number of citizens came up to him in the streets with technical problems that no-one else had been able to fix. Seripas very quickly became a household name in the north-western settlements as who to go to when you needed anything fixed. Anakin loved it. He was able to do what he loved and get paid to do so. So between their water harvests and Anakin’s burgeoning mechanical repair business, they were doing quite well financially.

She and Anakin had settled into one another again. Padmé still had moments where she would remember what he’d done to land them in this situation and be in a strop with him for a few hours until she calmed herself again. Overall, however, she no longer felt unsafe with him. After his unexplained outburst, he hadn’t had another one. There were days when he was angry or frustrated or unhappy, but they were within normal levels for him. There hadn’t been any more incidents of breaking things or completely losing control of himself. 

They’d also fallen headfirst back into the physical aspect of their relationship. After she’d seduced him on the couch their first day in their new home, it was like a dam had broken, the pair of them were barely able to keep their hands off each other. Anakin touched her at every opportunity. Small things like holding her hand, fondling her hair, and glancing touches at her waist. Larger things like wrapping himself around her while she cooked, frequently shoving his face into her hair, and kissing her at absolutely every opportunity. Anakin had always been a very fond of biting, and Padmé found herself with more love bites littering her body than she had ever had in her life. Padmé loved it regardless, leaning into each of his his touches, equally unable to keep her hands to herself. It also helped that Anakin was very willing to give her increasingly sore muscles very thorough massages. Padmé felt… adored, and Anakin seemed predominantly happy, pleased they had healed their relationship, and highly anticipating the birth of the children.

Padmé had also seen the doctor a few times. Dr Bavanth had checked up on her once a week, coming out to the farm and carefully inspecting her. Each time, Brato had deemed her and the children healthy and due soon. Padmé felt a mixture of joy and dread at it all. She was excited for her babies, but the thought of giving birth thoroughly unnerved her. 

As the due date drew closer, Padmé began nesting in earnest. She’d started before they’d left Coruscant, already having a small stash of baby clothes, but all of it had been left behind. Padmé started her collection again, finding a few items of clothing in town and befriending a seamstress in Mos Entha, who was teaching her to make items for the babies. 

Jeina was a short Pantoran woman who had an almost unnatural love of knitting and sewing. Her husband, Kal, had a malfunctioning water pump which was, if turned on, expelling precious water out onto the sand. Anakin and Padmé had been in town at the time and they had rushed off with Kal to help as soon as possible. 

Padmé had been left to sit with Jeina, who, after handing her a cup of tea, had sat her down and shown her how to knit. Padmé had been utterly taken with the activity, finding the repetitive action very soothing and by the time Anakin and Kal had finished, Padmé had the beginnings of a pale purple blanket, and had caught the crafting itch from Jeina. Anakin had laughed and then negotiated to be paid for the repair in knitting supplies. From there Padmé and Jeina had met up a couple of times per week, Padmé continuing to work on the baby blanket, eventually finishing two, one a pale purple and the other a forest green. Jeina and her husband had no desire to have children, but she enjoyed Padmé’s enthusiasm for hers.

It was nice to have a friend outside of Anakin and Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan. 

Obi-Wan still hadn’t settled. He was mostly eating fine now, but his sleeping patterns were still very erratic. It worried her. She and Anakin did what they could to help him, but there was only so much they _could_ do. He didn't want to share their bed, and he made a fuss when Anakin tried to hop into bed with him. Anakin had tried a few times, especially on days when Obi-Wan wandered around the house, eyes blank and sightless with deep, dark circles beneath them. It was those days that getting him to eat became more of a challenge. Anakin had been rebuffed at each attempt, crawling into bed with Padmé with an unhappy expression. 

“I don’t know what to do,” Anakin had muttered into her neck, having wrapped himself around her.

Padmé had sighed. “Me neither. Unfortunately he’s an adult and can make his own terrible choices. We just need a way to get him to sleep.”

It then became a secret competition to get Obi-Wan to fall asleep next to them. Anakin had mastered the art of snuggling up to him on the couch in the afternoon until Obi-Wan passed out for a few hours, his face squashed against Anakin. Padmé would corner him in the morning after she’d checked the vaporators, sliding into bed with him, bearing breakfast, and sitting beside him, just knitting and talking until he dropped off. 

Obi-Wan had also taken to disappearing up into the mountains behind the house, often sitting on a small patch of flat ground and meditating. Or just sitting and staring out at the plains in front of the house. Padmé could never tell. Either way, he’d just sit there quietly for hours on end. Anakin had joined him a few times, meditating along side him, or just talking. He actually managed to get Obi-Wan him fall asleep beside him up on the mountain once. Padmé had conceded to Anakin that yes, that was a feat of great skill, and he could have two points for it.

Anakin was definitely winning the napping competition so far.

Still though, Obi-Wan concerned her. Padmé had a terrible feeling that one day they would wake up and he’d just be gone. It wasn’t based on much, but the fact Obi-Wan wasn’t concerned that his room didn’t have a bed frame, still happily using just the mattress on the floor, and that he never included himself in discussions of the future, rubbed her the wrong way. She was reluctant to bring it up, because if that wasn’t the case, she didn’t want to put the thought in his head or have him feel like she was suggesting he leave. Padmé figured that he would at least warn them if he intended to go, and she and Anakin could persuade him to stay then.

It wasn’t perfect, but they were making the best of the situation, finding happiness where they could. Then suddenly, somehow, three weeks had passed on Tatooine.


	9. Labour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I've quit my job. Bye bye teaching, hello whatever the fuck I decide to do with my life. So it's an early chapter this week, and since I am now not working, they may appear a bit quicker, especially as the next few chapters are already mostly written. We shall see. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> We return to Obi-Wan for some reflection before things start happening (the chapter title is a rather big clue lol). I have read this chapter so many fucking times my brain has turned to mush, so if I repeat stuff or if it just doesn't make sense, please let me know. As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Obi-Wan sat on the rocky outcropping above the house. His pale grey tunics stood out starkly against the muddy orange-brown of the mountain rocks. The stone was warm and solid beneath him, if rather uncomfortable, but it wasn’t as though he’d slept on worse during the war. As he sat perfectly still on the rocks Obi-Wan felt connected to the landscape, the sharp rise of the cliffs around him impressing a feeling of safety on him. They stood, proud and sharp at his back, like a protective shroud watching over their home. 

Obi-Wan often took this roll on himself, settling up here watching the horizon. He had absently kept an eye out for Tuskens in the mountains and roaming the plains. He’d seen the occasional silhouette on the rocky crags above, but they had not come any closer thus far. Obi-Wan hoped they stayed away. Anakin, Padmé, and himself could definitely defend their home with ease, but it was an unnecessary stress and would likely draw too much attention to themselves. Attention they desperately didn’t want.

He also watched for any unknown persons moving across the flats in front of the house. The vast majority of the time, there was absolutely nothing out there but the sand, the wind and the dancing flurries created by the two. He’d seen the occasional life-form, but most moved swiftly away, headed towards the more populated settlements. The only visitor they ever had was Padmé’s doctor who dropped in once a week on his usual tour around the outer homesteads. Even Padmé’s new friend, Jeina, would have Padmé come to her in town. They all agreed it was safest this way. The less people who knew exactly where they lived, the better. Also, they all felt more likely to slip up on using their code names if they were at home.

When he wasn’t up on the cliff or embarrassingly falling asleep in strange places, Obi-Wan would slip off into the mountains to investigate their surroundings more thoroughly. He’d discovered a few flat areas that he could clamber up to, able to survey the occasional canyon or other sections of land. After one mishap, where he hadn’t been focusing and slipped down a rocky slope, he discovered a network of caves leading deep underground, a secret, twisting labyrinth hidden beneath the surface. Obi-Wan had taken to using it to practice katas with his lightsaber in the near darkness. He didn’t trust the light from his ‘saber out in the open. He knew that the light would carry obviously across the Tatooine flats, again drawing unwanted attention. He had resolved to ask Anakin to join him for a duel once the thought of Anakin fighting him stopped making him want to curl up on the ground and hyperventilate.

They had healed a lot of the wounds between them both. Obi-Wan had been completely fucking floored at Anakin’s instance that he was happy with Obi-Wan as his Master, and didn’t blame Obi-Wan for his fall. He’d…always felt so inadequate as his Master; the failed Padawan taking on _the Chosen One_ the day after he was knighted. Obi-Wan had done his best, but some days he had had no Sith-damned idea what he was doing raising a Padawan, especially one who had grown up outside the Temple. The memory of Anakin gently but firmly professing his admiration for Obi-Wan had replayed in his head frequently, each time spreading warmth thought his body.

However, even though a lot of issues between them had been resolved, and Obi-Wan didn’t feel like the worst failure the temple had ever produced, he was still experiencing flashbacks and dreams of Mustafar. The accursed vision continuing to haunt him long after he had solved the problem. He _knew_ objectively that Anakin was not Vader. Anakin was not the monster in his memories. But every so often Anakin would move or look a certain way, and Obi-Wan’s chest would go tight and nausea would roll to the forefront of his attention.

He was very kriffing sick of feeling terrible all the damn time. Obi-Wan would also give almost anything for a decent nights sleep. He had been trying to hide it, but both Anakin and Padmé seemed to be trying their damnedest to make him sleep.

He signed out his frustration, releasing it to the Force.

Obi-Wan’s head shot up as he heard footsteps approaching.

“Hey, Obi-Wan,” Anakin clambered up beside him, light brown tunics faintly stained with sand and grease.

“Anakin,” he greeted warmly.

“What are you up to?”

“Meditating,” Obi-Wan replied. “Thinking.”

Anakin dropped down on his right, slinging a casual arm about Obi-Wan’s shoulder. 

This physicality of their relationship was not necessarily new, but Anakin had been far more liberal with his touches over the past few weeks. Obi-Wan assumed it was because he was relaxed and happy, but he’d never shown so much interest in wrapping himself up in Obi-Wan before, and he wasn’t quite sure what it meant. He wasn’t complaining however. The comfort, when he could stand it, was quite welcome.

“Hm,” Anakin said, “well, don’t sit out here too long. You’ll get burnt again.”

Obi-Wan ignored that comment, faintly allowing himself to lean into the embrace. “Why are you up here?” 

Anakin smiled brightly, his blue eyes shining. “I need a favour. I’m heading into town to fiddle with Daragh’s podracer; it’s burning fuel like crazy and he can’t get it sorted on his own. Can you do my midday water round? I can do yours this evening?”

“Of course, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. 

Anakin had been loitering around Daragh ever since he’d gotten wind that he was building a podracer. Padmé and Obi-Wan had firmly told Anakin a week or so ago that he couldn’t race. It would be far too suspicious. Anakin had tired to argue that he wouldn’t let himself win, but Padmé had just laughed at him, and continued to shake her head, before she changed the subject entirely. They all knew better; in all likelihood, Anakin would get carried away and win. Anakin had accepted the decision quietly, but worked around the stipulation of not racing by involving himself heavily in the mechanical side of things. The local podracers had been thrilled to discover that Seripas, now the local tech miracle-worker, knew his way around a pod. 

“Want anything while I’m in?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan shook his head.

Anakin didn’t move.

“Aren’t you going into town?” Obi-Wan asked after a minute of sitting in silence.

“Not just yet.” Anakin leant the sides of their heads together. “I thought I could meditate with you for a bit?”

“Of course.”

Anakin quickly shuffled himself so that he was sitting crosslegged beside Obi-Wan, matching his posture exactly. Obi-Wan placed his hands upwards on his knees and was unsurprised when Anakin’s left hand settled over his. It had startled Obi-Wan the first time it had happened, before Anakin had muttered out a nervous explanation that it helped him focus. Now, it was a normal part of their routine.

Obi-Wan curled his fingers around Anakin’s and gently led him down into calm and quiet. Obi-Wan swept aside his worries and allowed himself to just float happily with Anakin’s physical and Force warmth beside him. Anakin’s presence in the Force was always so bright, and now that he was calm and happy, it was an incredibly soothing feeling.

After a time, Anakin exhaled loudly and gently pulled away. Obi-Wan slowly rose out of his meditation, opening his eyes to the bright light of Tatooine. He was greeted by the vibrant grin of Anakin smiling down at him. 

Anakin practically glowed in the sunlight. His brown hair had lightened somewhat from being outdoors and was now a dirty blond, his skin was radiant and warm, with blue eyes glittering happily. It created an awfully uncomfortable feeling in his chest. 

Obi-Wan pushed it away.

“I have to go,” Anakin said quietly. “See you tonight.”

He smiled. “Have fun.”

Anakin gave him a lazy salute and disappeared back down to the house. Obi-Wan watched in silence as Anakin sped across the desert in the speeder, straight for Mos Espa. A trail of dust and sand kicked up behind him, creating an obvious trail.

Anakin was so much happier. They’d been on Tatooine for weeks now, and Anakin had settled into the change with ease. He appeared to be relishing the freedom of what he did with his life, particularly the fact he and Padmé didn’t have to hide their relationship. Anakin and Padmé were barely able to keep their hands off of each other. It had made Obi-Wan uncomfortable for the first little while. He’d never before now experienced their affection for one another in person, at least, not since that kiss during their first time on Genosis. Obi-Wan had _known_ about them from then on out, quietly pretending not to notice, but having to experience it on a daily basis had been a bit of a shock to his system. He’d always pushed such thoughts about the two of them aside, but now he had to face it. 

Obi-Wan centred himself and released his emotions to the Force. It wouldn’t do to dwell on any of those thoughts. 

He’d become very good at letting his worries go over the last couple of weeks. As much as he felt better, knowing that everything was okay between him and Anakin, Obi-Wan could still feel the drowning weight of what he’d lost.

There were still raw wounds in his mind from where ties to different Jedi had been. He suspected Anakin wasn’t suffering so much, as none of the other Jedi had ever made much of an effort with him, so there weren't as many bonds to break. That, and Anakin’s connection to the Force was like staring into the sun. Obi-Wan felt that any real damage would have been healed quickly. 

But…

He missed his home.

He missed his family.

Obi-Wan had been trying to do as Yoda had instructed before it all went to hell, and connect to Qui-Gon’s spirit, hoping the spirits of the rest of his family were out there as well. Annoyingly, his mind and body were so unsettled that the attempts felt futile and it was just creating more frustration for himself. 

Obi-Wan attempted to reach Qui-Gon for a final time, before he swore in vexation and trudged back down to the flat-lands. 

He did the tour of the vaporators as Anakin had requested, carefully checking each was functioning and wasn’t clogged with sand. Once he felt confident they were all working and collecting properly, Obi-Wan sat on the ground and lost himself in his head again.

He would have to think seriously about leaving again soon. 

The childrens' births were imminent; Dr Bavanth most recently suggested it would likely be sometime this week, though it was really anybody’s guess. He’d given Padmé another two weeks before he wanted to induce the labour. 

After the birth, assuming everything went fine, Obi-Wan planned to go. He didn’t want to keep imposing on them. He wanted to find out who survived the Jedi purge. He needed to know what was going on in the galaxy. He wanted to stab Palpatine in his evil, manipulative fucking face.

He sighed, pushing that thought aside.

Obi-Wan knew that Master Yoda had already attempted that and failed, given the ongoing presence of the now-Emperor on all of the news holos he had managed to get his hands on. If Yoda had failed, Obi-Wan didn’t think he would have much of a chance on his own. He still worried about Anakin though.

After that last, huge outburst a few weeks again, Obi-Wan had a very strong suspicion that Sidious had a bond of some kind with Anakin. The moment Anakin had lowered his shielding, he’d shifted quickly, his Force presence twisting angrily and exploding out around him. Obi-Wan then speculated that this bond might explain the unusual gap in Anakin’s memories in regard to the attack on the Temple. That, however, would take more investigation. That would mean going back to the Temple. The very thought of which made him feel ill. The memory of his home, desecrated—

He shook it off.

Anakin had also been doing much better in reigning in his temper. Ignoring the huge outburst that Obi-Wan didn’t believe was really him, Anakin had been his usual mercurial self, fluctuating between emotions often and dramatically. He had, however, been doing as suggested and was seeking out either Padmé or himself to talk to. Sometimes they had to just about tie Anakin down to get him to talk, but most of the time he came to them willingly. 

About a week ago, Anakin had paced around Obi-Wan, angry and frustrated. Obi-Wan had been doing his evening water collection round, and Anakin had been surly, kicking up sand as Obi-Wan worked. Once Obi-Wan was done however, Anakin had requested they meditate together. 

“What’s wrong?” Obi-Wan had asked once they had both found a soft pile of sand to sit on.

Anakin had immediately dropped his meditative pose and flopped back onto the sand, his hair spread around him. “I’m…really scared,” Anakin had admitted reluctantly.

Obi-Wan relaxed his posture and stared over at Anakin. “What about?”

“Padmé,” Anakin said. “The children.”

“Specifically?”

Anakin had sat up again, lose grains of sand caught up in his hair, his blue eyes boring into Obi-Wan’s. “I don't want her to die. And—I know it shouldn’t happen; the doctor says she's fine, my dreams have stopped, and if your vision was right… it was me…” Anakin trailed off, eyes going distant. “But what if we’re wrong?” he finished finally.

“Anakin—”

“I can’t live without her, Obi-Wan,” Anakin whispered.

“It will be fine, Anakin,” Obi-Wan had reassured him, silently praying to every god he had ever heard of in his travels that he was right. As much as Anakin didn’t realise it, Obi-Wan knew, without a doubt thanks to his vision, that this was what Sidious had turned him with. “She’s got both of us here and we have to trust the doctor. Padmé is also very strong and is not going anywhere without a fight and you know it. Is that the only thing that’s worrying you?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin shook his head, sand falling from him. “What if I’m a terrible father?”

Obi-Wan had smiled, reached across the gap between them, and took his hand, knowing how much that helped calm him. “Anakin, I have complete faith that you will be a great father,” Obi-Wan had said once Anakin was looking at him again. “You were a great Master to Ahsoka, and raising a child is very similar; You look after them, you love them, and you teach them.”

“But I failed Ahsoka,” Anakin argued, face scrunching unhappily. “She left.”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “She may have left the Jedi, but you still taught her to look after herself and you taught her to think for herself. Those lessons are what will have helped her… and it’s not as though she hates you. I know the pair of you were still meeting up before all of this happened.”

“Yeah,” Anakin allowed.

Obi-Wan had smiled. “You’re going to be great, Anakin. I believe in you.”

From there, Anakin had perked up and hadn’t been quite so nervous about it all. He’d still obviously been worried, Obi-Wan catching the occasional thoughtful look on Anakin’s face, but he never again had reached the point of angry pacing. Overall, Anakin had been handling himself exceptionally well.

“Obi-Wan?” Padmé’s voice called from inside the house, breaking him from his thoughts.

“Hm?” He called back, still staring out at the desert. 

Anakin had been gone for some time, and he always had a tight feeling in his chest when Anakin left him and Padmé on their own. There was still a faint worry in his heart that Anakin would leave them; Join Sidious again or just vanish into unknown space. Objectively, Obi-Wan _knew_ it would _never_ happen, Anakin would never abandon Padmé or his children. Unfortunately the irrational thoughts still chased him, and it dove him to distraction with the anxious feeling in his chest never leaving him whenever Anakin was absent. 

Obi-Wan sent a questioning poke along the bond. It was a nervous habit he’d picked up over the last few weeks, just occasionally checking in on Anakin. After a moment, he received a weak burst of affection in return. He breathed a sigh of relief. _Everything was still okay_.

“Obi-Wan!?” Padmé called again, voice tight and urgent.

He turned fully back to the house, “What is it, Padmé?” he called out.

“Obi-Wan!!” 

He felt fear flood into the Force.

Obi-Wan sprang to his feet. His shoes slid through the sand, struggling to gain traction as he nearly landed on his face as he attempted to run. Sand covered his robes and the doorway as he rushed in. His heart hammered in his chest, slightly breathless after the sprint to the house.

“What is it?” 

Padmé stood in the living room, wide eyed and frozen, a small puddle at her feet. “Water’s broken,” she said shakily.

“Kriff,” he exhaled, mouth suddenly completely dry.

“We need a doctor,” she reminded him when he didn’t move.

“Right.” Obi-Wan tried to control his breathing. “Right. Anakin’s in town with the speeder. I’ll contact him. Okay?”

“Gods, you’re more terrified than I am, Obi-Wan!” Padmé laughed nervously. “I’m just going to—” she swirled her finger in the air, “—walk around a bit. I think that’s supposed to help.”

Obi-Wan pulled his communicator from the pocket of his robe, grip weak. This was not how he wanted it all to go down. Anakin should be here.

“Seripas,” he signalled.

There was a long moment of quiet before he received an answer.

“What is it, Hondo?” Anakin’s distorted voice came through.

“Don’t panic—” Obi-Wan began, and he saw the dirty look Padmé threw him.

“That is the absolute worst way to break news to someone,” came the crackly reply.

“—you need to bring a doctor home, Aurra is in labour,” he finished. 

Faint, distorted swearing was all they heard in response. Padmé just laughed behind him at Anakin’s response.

“Is she okay?” Anakin finally asked after getting that out of his system.

Padmé appeared beside Obi-Wan and gestured to give him the comm. “She’s fine right now Ani, but you won’t be if you don’t get your butt into gear and get her a doctor,” she informed him.

“Yes ma’am,” came the reply.

“Good.” She clicked the comm off, handing it back to Obi-Wan, and then resumed her pacing.

Obi-Wan was at a complete loss at what to do. He stood in the doorway, hands clenched together as he watched her circle the room muttering furiously to herself.

“Can I get you anything?” he tried.

Padmé smiled at him. “I don’t think there’s much you can do at this point. I can’t even yell at you. You’re not the idiot man who got me into this situation in the first place.”

He smiled at her in return. “I’m sure that idiot man won’t take too long. He’s been… worried.”

Padmé pursed her lips and was silent, still circling the lounge room.

That was the real Bantha in the room. Anakin and this birth. They’d both done their best to assuage his fear that she would die during the children's births. But…it was why he’d joined Sidious; It was the reason he had sided with the monster that had killed children and Jedi so he could rule the galaxy. If she died today, Obi-Wan and the rest of the galaxy were forfeit and Sidious would have his attack dog. 

If Padmé and the children didn’t survive today, Obi-Wan would accept his death with open arms. 

“Maybe a cup of tea and a towel to deal with my waters would be in order?” Padmé said finally, drawing his attention back out of his own head.

Obi-Wan nodded. “Of course.” He set to work.

Half an hour and two cups of tea later, the contractions started in earnest. The first one took them both by surprise, Padmé halting in her tracks and curling into herself, a pained cry escaping her lips. Obi-Wan was beside her in an instant, an arm supporting her, looped beneath her armpit.

“Are you okay?” He asked breathlessly.

“I’m fine,” Padmé sighed out a moment later. “Just contractions. It’s normal. I had one earlier.”

“Why didn’t you call me then?” Obi-Wan asked.

“I thought it was another practice one,” Padmé explained. “I’ve had a couple of those over the past week.” She laughed. “I scared the hell out of Anakin a couple of days ago. It’s totally normal.”

“Alright. I will take your word for it. This is not an area I know a lot about.” Obi-Wan admitted to her. He was well versed in actual children, having spent rather a lot of time in the crèche with the younglings—he cut off that train of thought. Not today.

“Well, you’re going to be learning quickly,” she informed him. “Twins are going to be a handful.”

He paused. Did she expect him to stay _?_ He’d done his duty; saved Anakin from himself; saved Padmé from his anger; saved the children from their fate. His job was done once the children were born and Padmé lived. _They_ _didn’t need him anymore_. 

His chest constricted. 

_Force_ , that thought hurt more than it should have.

“Obi-Wan?” came Padmé’s voice, a question lingering on the edge of her tone.

“It’s nothing,” he replied, forcing a smile to his lips. “More tea?”

Padmé shook her head and continued pacing around the lounge. Obi-Wan wasn’t sure he believed that the walking helped, but it seemed to be helping her mentally. While Padmé was coming across as very composed, there was a nervous tightness lingering about her eyes and lips. They both needed a distraction.

“Have you decided on names?” Obi-Wan tried.

“We’re down to four,” Padmé said, continuing to circle. “Luke, Kadar, Jade and Leia; That way we’re covered regardless of gender. Anakin said I get to choose once we see them.”

They’re good names,” Obi-Wan said. 

“Any preference from you?”

Obi-Wan blinked. “Oh. I… I suppose I rather like Luke.”

“Same here.” Padmé nodded.

Another thirty minutes passed in idle conversation before Padmé cried out again, face scrunched unhappily.

“Ah, fuck!” she exclaimed. “Fucking fuck this! I’m going to _murder_ Anakin!”

Obi-Wan involuntarily laughed, before moving closer to support her again. Padmé’s knees looked rather weak. “Come sit down with me?” Obi-Wan offered.

Some time later, when she could breathe again, Padmé nodded weakly. “Yeah. Okay.”

Obi-Wan led her back to the couch. She collected all the pillows, propping them up behind her, before settling back on them, facing Obi-Wan. He sat down and Padmé moved to place her legs up on his lap.

“We’ve got hours of this ahead of us.” Padmé flopped her head back on the pillows, sighing. “Why can’t they just magically pop out? That would be so much easier.”

“It would be.” Obi-Wan placed a hand on her leg where it rested on his lap, rubbing a calming thumb over her skin. “It’ll be okay.”

“I know.” She let out a deep breath. “Thank you.”

Padmé closed her eyes, and continued to lay back against the pillows. She didn’t actually sleep, her muscles beneath his hands still far too tense for that, but she at least tried to settle herself. Her long brown hair curled artfully about her shoulders, cascading down the pillows she lay on.

The pair of them sat in the quiet, Obi-Wan continuing his absent petting of Padmé’s leg. This was… somewhat awkward. It really should be Anakin here with her.

He hoped Anakin was doing okay in town. He gently prodded along the bond, feeling an underlying feeling of worry. Obi-Wan really wasn’t sure if it was his or Anakin’s.

The comm unit beeped.

“Yes?” Obi-Wan said, opening the channel. 

“How is she?” Anakin’s voice crackled, jumping straight to the point.

Padmé huffed out a laugh, hands indicating he hand it over.

“Hello darling,” Padmé said, her voice warm. Her eyes always went beautifully soft when she spoke to Anakin. It was truly lovely. “I’m fine. How was the pod?”

The distraction worked perfectly. Anakin launched into fast detail about the pod, blurting out information on the engine and the wiring, detailing how the thrusters had been the issue, draining power and fuel like no tomorrow. Anakin took a deep inhale at the end, not having stopped for a real breath for a few minutes. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Padmé smiled into the device. “Yeah, Obi-Wan is keeping me company—ahh!” Of course, that was the exact moment another contraction hit, Padmé squeaking out her pain and displeasure.

“What’s wrong?” Anakin’s voice shook. “Are you okay? _Padmé_?”

Obi-Wan took the comm out of Padmé’s shaking grip and gently stroked his other hand soothingly along her leg. “Padmé is fine,” Obi-Wan said, sending a wave of calm along their bond. “She’s just having contractions.”

It was a tense thirty seconds before Padmé relaxed again, sucking in air, and took the comm back. “Sorry darling,” Padmé huffed to Anakin. “I’m fine. The contractions are awful, but it’s all good. Obi-Wan’s got me covered.” Padmé smiled brightly at him. “How are you going with the doctor?”

There was a distorted sigh. “I finally found his practice, but I’m stuck here for now; He’s in the middle of surgery.”

“No problem,” Padmé said softly. “We’ll all be fine until he’s free. Obi-Wan is keeping me relaxed and tea-ed up.”

“Okay. I’m sorry I’m not there,” Anakin said quietly.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Padmé soothed. “There was no way of knowing. You’ll be here soon enough. Just… stay calm, okay?”

“Okay,” Anakin responded. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Padmé said. “We’ll see you soon.”

Padmé switched off the comm and tossed it on the table, dropping her head back against the pillows, letting out a cry of frustration.

“Are you alright, Padmé?”

“On the one hand,” Padmé began, brown eyes staring up at the ceiling, “I’m upset Anakin isn’t here. But on the other hand I am _really glad he’s not here_.”

Obi-Wan blinked at her. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Kiss me?” Padmé asked quietly to the roof.

Obi-Wan froze, his heart fluttering oddly. She— “What?”

“No—uh, I just,” Padmé stuttered out, voice shaking. “Can I cuddle up to you? I just…I want to feel loved. I’m fucking terrified right now, Obi-Wan. Please?”

Oh. 

“Of course.”

Padmé shifted on the couch, pulling her legs from his lap and clambering over to Obi-Wan. She dragged the pillows over, telling him to, “Hop up for a moment.” Doing as instructed, Padmé tossed the pillows against the alcove, before ushering him to sit back down and lean against it. Once he was settled, his back against the alcove and legs resting across the couch, Padmé snuggled up next to him. She slid in beside him, pressing up against him and resting her head on Obi-Wan’s chest. Obi-Wan could feel her warmth through their clothes, and could smell the faint vanilla hints of Padmé’s perfume. He could see a faint sheen of perspiration on her forehead, hands quivering where they clutched her shirt.

“Here.” Obi-Wan lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, his fingers then untangling where Padmé held her tunic, and gently cradling them in his own. Padmé let out a long breath, her fingers twining together with his, her grip very firm.

“Thank you,” Padmé said earnestly.

Obi-Wan leant forward and rested his face in her hair. “It’s no trouble.”

“I just—” Padmé began again, her voice tense. “What are we going to do about Anakin? I’d put good credits on the fact he’s going to be a fucking nightmare tonight.”

“I…suspect you are correct,” Obi-Wan allowed.

“I—Anakin fell because of this, didn’t he?” Padmé asked. “We haven't really talked about it, but I’m not stupid; It was his fucking dreams.” When he didn’t respond, she pressed on, voice demanding, “I’m right, aren't I, Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan stroked her fingers, quietly responding, “Yes.”

“Kriffing hells,” Padmé exhaled. “I—ah!”

She tensed against him, her grip on his hand tightening painfully. Padmé leant back into him, putting her whole weight against him as another contraction tore through her. She panted harshly though it, gripping his hand the entire time, whispering variations on “Fuck” and “Ow” and some very creative threats.

After what felt like and hour, but in reality was likely closer to twenty seconds, Padmé went limp against him again, head flopping back against his chest.

“Obi-Wan?” Padmé murmured.

“Yes?”

“Never get anyone pregnant,” she deadpanned.

Obi-Wan huffed out a laugh. “I wasn’t planning on it, but noted.”

The pair of them lay together, Padmé turning slightly to lay more on her side and buried her face in Obi-Wan’s shirt, continuing to grip his had tightly. With his free hand, he began carding his fingers through her hair, trying to exude calm into the Force. She felt so small and fragile in his arms, but he knew how dangerous and fierce she really was.Padmé had always worked for what was right, regardless of the danger to herself. Obi-Wan admired her greatly for her assured confidence and sharp intelligence. He wanted to gather her up and make her feel safe and happy; Padmé never deserved to be dragged into such a mess. She deserved more than hiding in the outer rim, curled up against him as a fill-in for her husband. He released those tangled emotions to the Force and continued to wrap Padmé in as much calm as he could muster. 

Slowly, Padmé relaxed against him.

“What are we going to do with Anakin when he gets home?” Padmé muttered into his tunic.

Obi-Wan continued petting her hair, “I suppose we should both stay as calm as we can for him—” Padmé just laughed. “—but if he’s being a pain for you, send him out of the room for the birth.”

“You think you can watch him?” Padmé asked.

“I can only try.”

Padmé exhaled. “I have a bad feeling about this.”


	10. Birth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DOUBLE CHAPTER SURPRISE. Merry Quit-My-Job-mas y'all. All of you readers are so lovely, and since I've had some extra writing time thanks to being job-free, I thought I'd give you a gift for being so great. IT'S ANGST. A plot twist, I know. You're welcome lol.
> 
> As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Anakin and Obi-Wan are literally the fucking worst and I cannot be held accountable for their actions. Sorry people. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“Force, I _hate_ this,” Anakin exclaimed throwing his arms into the air. He had been pacing around the lounge since Padmé had kicked him out of their bedroom. Apparently he was ‘too stressful to have in the room’. 

Anakin’s afternoon had felt like an ongoing nightmare.

After a prolonged moment of panic in Mos Espa at Obi-Wan’s comm call, Anakin had gathered his wits and had gone to find Doctor Bavanth. Up until this point, the doctor had been coming to them to check on Padmé, so Anakin had to ask around for his practice. After an hour and countless questions to the locals, he had an address and a punding headache. He’d wound his way through the still familiar Mos Espa streets—it really hadn't changed much in the last decade—weaving between buildings to find the address he was looking for. After circling a block twice, he discovered the entrance down a small alleyway.

He’d then had to wait another two anxiety fuelled hours. 

The assistant, a very tall near-human woman with bright purple eyes, had told Anakin that the doctor was mid-surgery to a life-threatening blaster wound, and assured him that the babies would not be born for some time if contractions had only just started. That had not, however, prevented him from pacing up and down the room he waited in, following an imaginary line back and forth in the waiting area. He felt sick. He should have stayed at home. What if he wasn’t at home and something went wrong? What if he never saw Padmé again? 

He’d then felt a prod from Obi-Wan through their bond and immediately whipped out his comm unit, calling quickly, anxious worry crawling up in his throat. He was immediately relived when everything turned out to be fine, breathlessly relaying his afternoon to Padmé and Obi-Wan. He’d nearly felt calm up until Padmé had cried out in pain. Anakin had rushed forward mindlessly, feeling as though he had to do _something_ but found nothing but empty air before him. Obi-Wan had assuaged his fears, informing him it was just contractions and nothing was wrong. 

It hadn’t stopped the wild beating of his heart though. Anakin just about felt how he usually would after a battle; cranked out of his mind on adrenaline and jumpy as fuck. After a final chat to Padmé, Anakin was left alone in the waiting room, lost in his own head again.

There was nearly a dent in the floor where he’d been pacing by the time Brato finally appeared. The light on the ceiling might have been shaking somewhat as well. Anakin hoped no-one noticed that.

“Ah, Seripas,” Brato greeted him, tugging off a bloodied coat as he entered the reception area. “How are you today?”

“Stressed out of my mind,” Anakin said honestly.

Brato laughed, a deep warm sound. “That is to be expected. Give me some time to prepare and then we can go.”

Once Bavanth was cleaned up, he spent some time packing a variety of materials into a large bag. Anakin’s chest clenched at the surgical items that went in. He hoped beyond all measure that they wouldn’t need any of them. Anakin watched the entire process with the sharp intelligence of a zillo beast, cataloguing each individual item.

“You have some terrible first birth jitters, son,” Brato had informed him once they were both in the speeder. Anakin had just grunted at him, not wanting to engage in the conversation. He was trying his hardest not to focus on his fears. “Not the worst I’ve seen, though,” he added conversationally.

“Oh?” Anakin bit.

Brato grinned at him, orange and black markings shifting menacingly. “You haven’t threatened to kill me yet.”

Anakin blinked. “I hadn't thought of that.” Anakin supposed he should be very proud of himself for that oversight. 

Bavanth laughed and watched the desert fly past them, Anakin flooring it. He stared directly ahead, his mind resolutely focused on home, the actual driving more of a reflex than a conscious action. Anakin had felt gently along his bond with Obi-Wan when he’d gotten closer to the homestead, pressing forward the idea that he was nearly home, trying his best to filter out his worry. Obi-Wan sent back warmth and confirmation.

When they’d reached the farm, Obi-Wan had been standing at the door waiting for them. Putting the speeder into park, Anakin had leapt from the vehicle, dashing across the yard and pausing when he reached his friend.

“How is Padmé?” Anakin asked urgently.

Obi-Wan gave him a warm smile, a hand sliding up his arm and sending a pulse of reassurance across their bond. Obi-Wan stroked a gentle circle on his arm with his thumb, “She’s fine. Not very pleased with you and in some pain, but fine. I’ll help the doctor in if you want to talk.”

Anakin nodded and headed inside.

Padmé was sitting on a throne of pillows on the couch, teeth gritted and staring straight ahead, breathing heavily through her nose. “After this is over, Ani,” she huffed out, “we are having a long talk about enhancing our contraceptive habits.”

He laughed weakly and moved across the room to sit beside her. “Of course, love.”

When she next relaxed, Anakin wrapped his arm around her waist and buried his face in her hair. She was still here. She was fine. Anakin could smell and feel her. He exhaled slowly. Everything was okay. Anakin leant in and pressed a kiss to her cheek, his left hand cradling her head. Padmé leant back against him, allowing the affection. She’d then turned her head and caught his lips in hers. Padmé was gentle, her lips soft and just allowing them both to reassure each other they were there. 

“Are you doing okay?” Anakin asked, their lips still brushing.

Padmé sighed and pulled back. “Yes. I’m getting sick of this whole labour thing and would rather like these damned contractions to fuck off. Otherwise, I’m fine, though I suspect if you ask me that in a few hours, the answer will be different.” Padmé laughed, high and nervous. “Are you okay?”

Anakin shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I’m just…anxious.” Understatement of the year.

Padmé kissed his cheek. “That’s to be expected; this is a stressful situation. Just don’t let it overwhelm you, darling”

“I’ll try.” Anakin had leant in for another kiss, but Padmé pulled back, a sly grin on her lips.

“You owe me a kiss once we have two healthy babies in our hands,” she said gently. 

Anakin nodded jerkily. Padmé believed she would be fine. Obi-Wan believed she would be fine. It would be fine. It would be fine.

…He just kept remembering his awful fucking dreams.

From there, Doctor Bavanth had arrived and sat down on the lounge table, talking to Padmé. He gently questioned her, allowing a pause when another contraction hit her. Padmé had just about crushed his fingers when she reflexively grabbed onto Anakin at the pain. Brato had helped her breathe through it, before resuming their discussion. The Zabrak finally talked her through what to expect, and that she needed to do as instructed. Padmé had nodded, her face set and focused. Padmé was okay. He was okay. It would be okay.

Brato had then relocated Padmé and Anakin into their bedroom and he started preparing for the birth, unpacking everything from his bag. Anakin had tried his hardest to stay calm in the room, but had to be asked to leave after the first hour. He’d been unsettled and twitchy, jumping at most things, especially her contractions, and very nearly snapped at Brato. After that, Padmé had glared at him and ordered him back upstairs.

So here he was, pacing around the lounge, likely driving Obi-Wan insane. It had been hours since he had last seen his wife, but he could feel her distress leaking into the Force, and it was grating against his senses. He wanted to help. He wanted to know she was okay. His heart had been lodged in his throat for hours now and he felt as though he could just about vibrate out of his skin. 

“This waiting is intolerable and I _kriffing hate it_!” Anakin exclaimed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Obi-Wan flinch. 

Obi-Wan had settled onto the couch, a cup of tea in hand and a blanket draped over him. Padmé had been in labor since around mid-afternoon and now the twin suns had thoroughly set. The desert often dropped to freezing temperatures at night and Obi-Wan was often cold, much more used to the temperature controlled environments of starships and the Temple.

Obi-Wan placed the tea on the table in front of the couch. “She’ll be fine. The doctor said he didn’t anticipate any problems.” He sounded calm and determined, but Anakin could see the faint tremor in the cup as he placed it down, before shaky hands were hidden beneath the blanket.

“Then why are you so nervous?” Anakin bit out. Anakin _knew_ he was being irrational. He could hear the words coming out of his mouth and just about regretted them as soon he said it, but it just kept happening. He was just so _fucking stressed_. He was _trying_ to breath calmly, he was _trying_ to focus, but it just kept slipping through his grasp. “Force, I _hate this!_ ”

There was the flinch again.

“ _What_?” he exclaimed, rounding on Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan’s jaw clenched, and he looked away. “I’m going for a short walk,” Obi-Wan said, suddenly standing. He wrapped the blanket firmly about himself and walked out the front door.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin called after him. 

No reply. 

Anakin circled the room a few times, frustrated, stressed, and above all angry with himself. He didn’t _mean_ go off at Obi-Wan. Surely Obi-Wan knew that? Anakin was fucking terrified of Padmé dying tonight. He knew it was unlikely. He knew the doctor said it would be fine. Yet his memories of his dreams kept pushing themselves to the forefront of his mind. Anakin’s breathing came hard and fast as he paced around the house, doing his absolute best not to break anything. Some of the plates in the kitchen had been rattling ominously earlier.

Some time passed as he worked on wearing a dent into the floor, until Anakin finally noticed that Obi-Wan hadn’t returned. Anakin paused in his pacing and stared thoughtfully at the door. Stay or go. Stay or go.

“Kriffing Sith-hells,” Anakin muttered and took off after him.

Anakin circled the house, but found nothing. He supposed Obi-Wan was probably up on his usual ridge where he often went to sit or think or meditate. He climbed the loose path slowly, the darkness making it difficult. He spotted Obi-Wan’s silhouette exactly where he thought he would be. Seated on a patch of rocks overlooking the house, staring off into the darkness of the desert and the flickering stars in the sky.

“Obi-Wan?” he called.

He heard a sharp inhale ahead of him, and noticed the quivering of the blanket as he approached. Of course Obi-Wan was cold, it was kriffing freezing out here. Anakin could just see Obi-Wan in the light reflected up from the house.

“What’s got you so worked up?” Anakin asked bluntly as he neared. Fuck. Again. Had his filter completely fucking broken!?

Obi-Wan shook his head and words struggled to escape his lips. “Nothing. Go back inside. Padmé needs you.”

Anakin probed at their bond, but was met with durasteel walls. Anakin frowned; Obi-Wan was hiding something.

“I’m not just leaving you out here,” Anakin pressed, sitting down beside his old master. “It’s cold.”

Obi-Wan flinched away from the hand he attempted to place on his shoulder. “Just go.” Obi-Wan turned to face him, a blatantly fake smile plastered on his face. “I’m fine. I just need some time up here; go and look after your wife.”

“What are you even worried about,” Anakin blurted out, “you said it was going to be fine?! Why are you doing this? Is it not going to be fine? I don’t—I don't understand.”

Obi-Wan just shook his head, murmuring out, “It _is_ fine, Anakin.”

“Then why—?”

“Don't worry. Just go.”

What was happening? Why—why was Obi-Wan behaving like this? What did he know that Anakin didn’t? Had Obi-Wan lied about Padmé? About the dream? Anakin felt anxious dread clog up his throat, his mind swirling in darkness, his hands shaking violently. He felt thick, murky confusion fog his brain. Anakin had hit his limit, worry and frustration bubbling over, his voice spitting out, “Force, I hate you sometimes!”

Obi-Wan broke before his eyes. 

His eyes widened like saucers before his entire body curled in on itself, his hands gripping tighter to the blanket, white knuckled and shaking. Tears slipped past Obi-Wan’s now sightless eyes, dripping into his forearms, as he struggled to get a breath past his lips. Anakin felt the mental walls between them shimmering oddly. 

Anakin went wide eyed in return, his chest suddenly tight with a different kind of fear. 

He hadn’t meant to do that.

“Obi-Wan?” he tried.

He heard his Master whispering beside him. Most of the words were unintelligible, but Anakin could hear the tone of abject fear and misery in them.

Anakin reached out a hand a touched his fingertip to his friends shoulder; Obi-Wan's  shields fell like curtains around his head, unexpected and heavy and Anakin involuntarily watched what could have been play out before him.

~ ~ ~

_Anakin could see through Obi-Wan’s eyes._

_He stood at the top of the ramp of Padmé’s ship, watching as Padmé spoke to himself on Mustafar, their words only just audible._

_“Anakin, I was so worried about you! Obi-Wan... told me terrible things!” Padmé said._

_“What things?” he saw himself—no—Vader ask._

_A pause. “He said... you turned to the Dark Side. That you... killed Younglings!” There was horror in _Padmé's_  voice, the fear slipping into her words, her posture screaming anxiety._

_“Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me,” Vader argued, his voice dark._

_Padmé shook her head. “He cares about us.”_

_“Us?”_

_“He knows. He wants to help you,” she tried so hard to convince him. “Anakin, all I want is your love.”_

_“Love won't save you, Padmé. Only my new powers can do that!” Vader asserted._

_“But at what cost? You're a good person, don't do this!” He could hear the heartbreak in her voice._

_Anakin felt a cold, creeping horror begin to curl around his mind; this was nearly him. This was him, moments away from the person he’d been when Obi-Wan had tried to help him. How could he allow this to happen? Anakin_ loved _Padmé. How could he ever, Sith or not, ignore her pleading with him like this? Every cell in his body protested the wrongness of the scene._

_“I won't lose you the way I lost my Mother. I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of, and I'm doing it for you! To protect you!” Vader spat._

_“Come away with me,” Padmé begged. “Help me raise our child far away. Leave everything else behind while we still can!”_

_“No. Don't you see?” Vader said. “We don't have to run away anymore! We no longer have to hide our love for each other. I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I... I can overthrow him! And together, you and I can rule the galaxy! We can make things the way we want them to be!”_

_Padmé’s voice had gone shrill, terrified_. _“I don't believe what I'm hearing! Obi-Wan was right... you've changed! You have turned to the Dark Side! You're not Anakin anymore!”_

_He sees furious rage slice across Vader’s face, his voice darkening.“I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me—Don’t you turn against me!”_

_“Anakin, you're breaking my heart! You're going down a path I cannot follow!” Padmé was crying now, and Anakin felt his own heart tear in two. How was Vader not moved by any of this?_

_“Because of Obi-Wan?” Vader asked._

_Force, he was a moron._

_Anakin could feel the turbulent emotions within Obi-Wan. His horror at what was happening, his desire to step in and help, but worried that would make things worse, trying to give Padme time to reach Anakin._

_“Because of what you've done... what you plan to do! Stop! Stop now... come back... I love you!”_

_Anakin then saw his own golden eyes lock with himself, or rather, Obi-Wan. He watched as the rage and anger reached boiling point, as Vader screamed insanely at his wife, “Liar!”_

_“No!” Padmé cried out, turning, shocked as he was to see Obi-Wan there._

_“You’re with him! You brought him here to kill me!” Vader accused._

_Padmé tried to reason with him.“No! Anakin. I swear… I—"_

_He watched in horror, both his and Obi-Wan's, as he Force choked his own heart. Padmé raised slightly off the ground as Vader constricted the air in her throat. Anakin felt sick at the image._

_“Let her go, Anakin,” he heard Obi-Wan call out and moved closer to the scene._

_He still had Padmé strung in the air, still raving. “What have you and she been up to?”_

_Obi-Wan tried again. “Let her go!”_

_Vader released his grip on a now unconscious Padmé and she crumpled to the ground. Anakin wanted to cry, wanted to scream. Watching her still body laying on the hot ground of Mustafar drove him to distraction. How could he ever even think of doing such a thing?_

_“You turned her against me,” Vader yelled, insensible._

_“You have done that yourself.” Obi-Wan sounded resigned. Disappointed._

_Anakin watched as Vader threw off his cloak. “You will not take her from me.”_

_“Your anger and your lust for power have already done that,” Obi-Wan fired back and dropped his own cloak. “You have allowed this Dark Lord to twist your mind until now . . . until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.”_

_Obi-Wan was right._

_They circled each other until Obi-Wan was near Padmé and he placed his hand on her. There was still a tiny spark of life that Obi-Wan could feel, but it was as faint as bird wings. Obi-Wan didn’t think she would last long and his heart sank further. Vader had ripped out her life force at the base. She was fading fast and there was nothing he could do to help her. He'd failed. Anakin could feel that crushing weight of failure boring down on Obi-Wan._

_Anakin wanted to scream and tried to pull away from the memory, but it held him fast. He did’t want to see this. He didn’t want to see her die._

_“Don't lecture me, Obi-Wan. I see through the lies of the Jedi,” Vader continued, stalking his old Master. “I do not fear the Dark Side as you do. I have brought peace, justice, freedom, and security to my new Empire.”_

_“_ Your _new Empire?” Obi-Wan asked, incredulous._

_“Don't make me kill you,” Vader said. Anakin thought it sounded empty; Vader was clearly spoiling for a fight, his movements dripping with blatant desire for confrontation._

_Obi-Wan was pleading now, trying to see s_ omething _in him, “Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic...to_ democracy! _”_

_Vader yelled in response, “If you're not with me, you're my enemy!”_

_His friend’s voice settled into resignation. “Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes. I will do what I must.” Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber._

_“You will try,” Vader replied, and lit his._

_A long fight followed, both incredibly talented, they matched one another stroke for stroke, too familiar with each other to gain or give ground. Anakin could see the anger and rage and insanity in Vader’s eyes, and had never been more grateful for what Obi-Wan did those weeks ago on Mustafar. The fought through buildings and structures and lava, both far to skilled after years of war. The battle drew to a close and Obi-Wan stood on solid ground above him._

_“It's over Anakin, I have the high ground.” Force, Obi-Wan was still trying to reach him._

_Vader scoffed, “You underestimate my power!”_

_“Don't try it.”_

_But Vader did. Anakin knew exactly which move he would have made there as well, and was forced to watch Obi-Wan remove his legs and left arm. Anakin desperately wished he could look away. Wished he couldn't feel the rending sensation occurring in Obi-Wan's chest._

_He could hear Obi-Wan cry as he yelled down to Vader’s prone form, “You were the_ Chosen One _! It was said that you would_ destroy _the Sith, not_ join _them! You were to bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!”_

_Vader reached deep into his vat of anger, and flung out a final, “_ **_I hate you_ ** _!” his eyes blazing madly._

_Anakin felt his heart constrict. It was that last statement that reverberated around his— no— Obi-Wan’s thoughts. Every muscle in his body resonating to that statement. Anakin could feel how Obi-Wan was being torn apart from the inside, his soul shattering to pieces at the death of his friends. Friends he should have been able to save. Anakin heard a final, breathless, teary statement from Obi-Wan as he responded, “You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you_. _”_

_Anakin had heard that before._

_He feels the resigned devastation within Obi-Wan’s heart, forced to walk away from the man he had loved and raised, left to die alone and fallen. Anakin listened to Obi-Wan tearfully trudge back to the ship, broken in heart and spirit, returning to see if Padmé had managed to cling to life for just a little while longer. Obi-Wan knew she would soon be dead, if she wasn't already. No-one could survive having their life force being torn out like that. It would only be a matter of time…_

~ ~ ~

The memory—dream? broke into pieces and Anakin found himself sitting atop a dark hill on Tatooine, tears streaking his and Obi-Wan’s faces. 

He felt sick. 

Hearing about the non-specifics from Obi-Wan on Mustafar weeks ago had been enough, but seeing it? _Feeling it_? It was fucking horrific. 

Anakin sobbed unexpectedly, the sound bursting from him against his will, his mind trying to process everything he had seen. Force, it had come so close to coming true. That had very nearly been him. Anakin was horrified that this was what had been haunting Obi-Wan for months, what he had been forced to relive over and over. 

Anakin curled his entire body around Obi-Wan, his arms clinging tightly to his friend. “Obi-Wan, I’m so sorry. Force, how could you have ever forgiven me?” Anakin muttered into his hair. “I love you, I love you so much, I should have said, I’m so sorry.” He pressed his face against the side of Obi-Wan’s hair, his hands stroking any bit of skin they could reach, desperate to know Obi-Wan was still here, still beside him.

Eventually, Obi-Wan pulled back, his tears having slowed and calmed his breath nearer to normal. "I’m sorry, Anakin, you didn’t need to see that.”

Anakin didn’t even know what to say to that, and just stared at Obi-Wan. The faint light radiating up from the farm below lit them both in a dim glow. Anakin could just see the brightness in Obi-Wan’s eyes, fresh from tears and a soft flush across his cheeks, his auburn hair wild about his face.

Anakin reached forward, his hand running fingers through Obi-Wan’s tousled hair before lingering on his cheek. “Obi-Wan, I—”

“Gentlemen?” A deep voice rose in the air below, calling out to them in the darkness. “The children are here.” 

Force, what must the doctor think of the two of them disappearing into the night while his wife gave birth.

Obi-Wan’s eyes meet his. “Go.”

Anakin was on his feet and moving down the slope the moment after Obi-Wan spoke. He slid and nearly tripped on the sand and stones on his way down, only just catching himself with the Force. He nearly ran straight into the doctor. 

“How are they?” Anakin asked, wide eyed and frantic.

Brato smiled at him. “Mother and babies are all well. Go in and see.” He gestured back into the house.

“Thank you!” Anakin cried, pulling the doctor into a tight hug, before darting downstairs and into the bedroom. 

Padmé glanced up as her husband bounded through the door. He must look a sight. Padmé frowned at the surprising amount of sand covering his clothes.

“Where have you been?” Padmé asked.

Anakin didn’t reply, his eyes fixed on the two tiny bundles in her lap. They were so small. They were alive. Anakin could feel them both strongly in the Force, one asleep and the other staring up at Padmé. Anakin’s entire body flooded with euphoria. Everything was okay. 

His eyes flicked back up to Padmé, finally asking, “You’re okay?”

“Obviously,” she rolled her eyes at him, smiling. “Come and meet your children. Also, you owe me something.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Anakin carefully crawled up the bed to sit beside her. When he was finally seated, she leant in and kissed him, her lips gently folded over his, soft and grateful, if a little bit messy. Anakin stroked a hand along her cheek, his fingers tracing the side of her face. Anakin had never felt so pleased to be kissing her in his life. Padmé was completely fine. _She hadn’t died._ She looked exhausted, but none the worse for wear.

Anakin felt overwhelmed. His love for her bubbled over like an unwatched kettle, and he suddenly found himself pressing quick little kisses all over her face, repeating “I love you!” over and over against her skin.

After a few moments of this, Padmé pulled away, a light giggle on her lips, whispering, “I love you too, darling,” and redirected his attention. “Now this,” Padmé said, passing the sleeping baby to Anakin, “is Leia.” 

Anakin was suddenly fucking terrified. What the kriff was he meant to do with her? She was so small; he could break her without even thinking about it. Anakin’s hands trembled as he took Leia from Padmé, desperately looking to her for instruction.

“Support her head,” Padmé told him.

Anakin did so, cradling _his daughter_ in his arms. “Leia,” Anakin breathed out, staring down at the sleeping child. “She’s beautiful.” Her little face was scrunched up in sleep, pink and weirdly wrinkly. Anakin had never seen a baby this fresh before. Anakin looked up, eyes drawn to the baby in Padmé’s arms. “And that one?”

Padmé snorted, brown eyes glittering. “ _That one_ , as you so eloquently put it, is your son, Luke.”

“Luke,” Anakin repeated and reached out with his empty arm to stroke the little boy’s head. Luke’s eyes followed his movements eagerly, a bright squeak leaving his mouth at the touch. 

“Oh!” Anakin said, drawing back, surprised. Luke had just projected his joy right at Anakin, happiness and contentment washing over him.

Padmé blinked over at him. “What?”

Anakin smiled at her. “Luke’s Force sensitive.”

“Leia?” she queried.

Anakin focused his attention back on the bundle in his arms. Carefully, he reached out to her, gently sliding his own awareness over Leia’s, projecting love and affection to her. After a moment, she shifted and woke up, her blue eyes focusing in on her father. She scrunched her face and fussed about in his arms, and Anakin could feel her faint displeasure at being disturbed. He laughed. 

“I’d say she is as well,” Anakin admitted.

“Well it’s lucky they have you and Obi-Wan then, isn’t it?” Padmé smiled, and then suddenly paused, looking around. “Where _is_ Obi-Wan?”

“Um. Outside?” Anakin tried. That was his guilty voice. He knew that was his guilty voice. Padmé was going to know something was up.

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Outside.”

“He was outside when I last saw him.”

“Gods kriffing save me,” Padmé muttered. “You’ve left Obi-Wan, the man we owe _all of this to_ , outside in the cold and _haven't invited him in to meet your children_?”

Anakin’s eyes dropped, coming to rest on Leia. His euphoria dimmed, the memory of earlier crawling its way back into his head. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

Padmé’s voice flatlined, “What don’t I know?”

“I—um,” he paused, guilt clawing at his skin, “I was stressed and scared, and I may have yelled at him a bit. He was behaving strangely, and I might have suggested I hated him a little bit—”

“ _Anakin_!” Padmé burst out.

“I _know_!” he returned, furious at himself, “But I saw it, Padmé. The dream—vision—whatever. His shields broke and I saw it. I saw Mustafar.” Anakin could feel tears well up in his eyes again. “Force, it was worse than I could have imagined,” he choked, struggling to get the words out. “I killed you. I know Obi-Wan said that is what would have happened, but _really seeing it—_ Fuck, Padmé, I never imagined I could hurt you like that. But I did. I killed you, and the babies.” He glanced back down at the small bundles, his chest bursting for joy that they were okay, safe in his arms, “I made Obi-Wan fight me. I made him kill me and I had the audacity to tell him _I hated him._ He just wanted to help us; wanted to keep us safe and save me from myself, and I told him I hated him.” Anakin had never hated himself more than when he’d been forced to see that vision, and had never been more grateful to Obi-Wan.

_“Anakin,_ ” she breathed out, her spare hand coming to rest against his arm.

“Force, I love him so much, Padmé,” Anakin whispered, leaning against her shoulder, a stray tear escaping his eye.

“I know you do, darling,” she replied, pressing a kiss to the side of his face. “Have you talked to him about it?”

“What do you mean?” Anakin asked.

Padmé frowned. “Have you talked about what you saw? The vision.”

“No,” Anakin replied. “Brato called me in.”

“Anakin! You need to fix this!”

He frowned, “What—?”

Padmé tried to start gently, “That beautiful man—”

“You think he’s beautiful?” Anakin cut in.

“Anakin, _shut up_.” She sighed in frustration. “He has just had to relive an awful period of his life, again, and know that _you_ , the complete twit who put us all in this situation, has had a unimpeded view into that trauma, and then you’ve immediately abandoned him! You have the emotional sensitivity of a fucking rock some days, Anakin!” Her voice had risen in intensity as she spoke. “Go get him, now!”

His eyes widened. He hadn’t thought of it like that.

“Shit. Right.” Anakin removed himself from the bed after passing Leia carefully back to her mother. “Be right back.” Anakin darted upstairs, feeling fucking terrible. Padmé was always the more emotionally intelligent out of the two of them; those thoughts hadn't even crossed his mind. 

He found Obi-Wan speaking to Brato in the lounge. Obi-Wan looked distinctly shaky, but was putting on a brave face and keeping up polite conversation.

“Obi—ah—Hondo.” Fuck. 

Obi-Wan reluctantly looked up at him, eyes not actually reaching Anakin’s face. “Yes?”

“Come see the babies?” Anakin asked hopefully, following up with, “Padmé wants to see you.”

Brato nodded at Obi-Wan. “You go. I’ll sort myself.”

“Okay,” Obi-Wan said and stood up. He moved over to Anakin, who resisted grabbing his hand and dragging him downstairs. Obi-Wan didn’t look like he would handle touching very well right now. He looked just about ready to shatter at the slightest provocation.

Anakin led the way downstairs and let him into their bedroom. Padmé had sunk slightly further into there pillows, cuddling up to Luke and Leia, murmuring faintly to them. She looked up when Anakin entered, Obi-Wan in tow behind him.

Padmé smiled at them both, and Anakin shut the door to the hall.

“Are you alright, Obi-Wan?” Padmé asked, a yawn cracking at the end of the sentence.

A smile. “Of course. I should be asking that of you.” 

The look on her face said that she didn’t believe him for a moment. Anakin crawled back into his space on the bed and reached for Luke, fingers itching to hold his other child. It would be all right. All of them were here, and alive, and (mostly) okay. 

“I’m perfectly fine.” Padmé passed Luke to her husband, admitting, “I can’t feel a thing below the waist at this point, so I’m not in any pain. I am very tired though.”

“I would imagine so,” Obi-Wan replied, standing awkwardly at the door. “I can leave you both to sleep?”

“Obi-Wan, sit down before you fall down, and come meet the children,” Padmé instructed using her best Senatorial tone; the one that brooked no argument.

Obi-Wan relented. “I would love to.”

He moved and sat himself on the edge of the bed on the other side of Padmé to Anakin. She carefully passed him the remaining baby in her arms. “Here, take Leia.”

“Oh,” he exhaled, taking the tiny form and cradling her in his arms. “She’s just as beautiful as her parents.”

Padmé shot Anakin a pointed look, eyebrows raised. Yeah. Anakin knew they had to do something about this. Padmé had said they would talk to Obi-Wan about the three of them after the children were born. Anakin had just enough self-awareness to know that now wasn't the time. All three of them had just had an incredibly stressful day and were at the end of their own individual ropes. Not now, but soon.

“Hello, Leia,” Obi-Wan cooed down at her, his voice tight. “It is wonderful to meet you.”

It warmed Anakin’s soul to see Obi-Wan as in love with the babies as he and Padmé were. Obi-Wan’s eyes were damp as he stared down at Leia, but nothing fell from them. He was watching Leia as though she were his entire universe. Obi-Wan stroked her face with his finger, tracing over her features and her head. Leia scrunched her face in response, still fussing somewhat, but her eyes slowly fell shut again, drifting back into slumber. Anakin watched the entire exchange with greedy eyes, his own hand petting Luke gently.

Long minutes passed before Obi-Wan lifted his head again, looking over to Anakin.

Anakin smiled brightly, nodding down to the now sleeping child in his arms. “This is Luke.” 

Obi-Wan reached across Padmé’s lap to run his hand over Luke’s head, a gentle smile at his lips. “Congratulations, to both of you,” Obi-Wan said finally. “They are perfect.” He lapsed into silence again, focusing in on the twins. 

Anakin felt like the proudest father in the universe.

Slowly, he felt a burning sensation on the side of his face, and looked up to see Padmé staring purposefully at him. When she caught his eye she nodded her head in Obi-Wan’s direction.

“Obi-Wan?’ Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan hummed and looked up at them both, still gently rocking the now sleeping Leia in his arms.

“About before. Outside.”

Obi-Wan went rigid, closing off quickly. “Oh, don’t worry about that.”

“I want to worry about it, Obi-Wan,” Anakin pressed, still absently stroking Luke’s head. “That’s a fucking awful thing to have in your head; I don’t understand how you have been living with that.”

Obi-Wan returned his attention to the child in his arms. “It doesn’t matter now. It didn’t happen.”

“It _does matter_ because it’s still affecting you,” Anakin argued. “Sometimes you can’t even _look at me_ , and it’s because of that vision. Because of what I did. What I made you do. You’re still hurting, and _that_ _matters_.”

Padmé was obviously struggling to focus on the conversation being completely exhausted, but she was still trying to keep half an eye on her boys and her babies. She cut in before Obi-Wan could. “Ani’s right, Obi-Wan. How you feel matters.”

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment before saying, “But there’s nothing you can do. It happened. It didn’t happen. It changes nothing. We must focus on the present.”

Anakin scowled. 

“Look,” Anakin pressed, “this is the present, and in this present, you're suffering because of what happened.”

Obi-Wan just shrugged at him, his whole focus on Leia.

Anakin opened his mouth, face set to continue the argument but Padmé shook her head at him. He closed his mouth, and took a deep breath. They weren’t going to gain anything by arguing with him now, not when all of them were so strung out. At least they’d managed to flag to Obi-Wan that it mattered to them. Anakin hoped that would at least help.

The three of them sat in the quiet, Anakin and Obi-Wan cradling the children whose tiny eyes were drooping at the silence. It was slowly lulling Padmé into sleep along with her children. Her brown eyes slipped shut, unable to hold onto consciousness much longer, sinking further and further into the blankets and pillows around her. 

“I think Padmé is finally done,” Anakin whispered to Obi-Wan. “I should sort the doctor out.”

“I’ve already done that,” Obi-Wan replied, his voice low and quiet. “I put him up in my room until he can leave tomorrow morning.”

“Where are you sleeping?” 

“The couch will be fine.” 

Anakin resisted rolling his eyes at Obi-Wan, instead he just sighed and said, “Obi-Wan, no. Stay with us for the night.”

“I couldn’t possibly—” he whispered back before Anakin cut him off. 

“Yes, you can,” Anakin persisted, before switching to a better tactic. “Besides, if the twins wake up in the night, I’m going to need an extra pair of hands. Padmé isn’t going to be much help.” Well, that was definitely true. Padmé had completely passed out, not even twitching where she lay.

“Okay,” Obi-Wan relented. “Let’s put the children to bed.”

The pair of them carefully placed the twins into their cribs, both already asleep, and gently placed the small blankets Padmé had made over each of them; Luke in purple and Leia in green.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin said quietly, catching his hand as he had turned away form the cots.

“Hm?”

Anakin waited until Obi-Wan was looking at him properly, before he spoke. “I’m sorry. About earlier,” Anakin said. “I was stressed and confused and I didn’t mean to take that out on you. I have never been more grateful for what you did on Mustafar.”

Obi-Wan smiled weakly at him, before his eyes dropped. “Neither of us was managing ourselves very well today. It was as much my fault as yours. We’re… both a bit of a mess, aren't we?”

Anakin let out a soft laugh. “Uh, yeah. We are.” He reached up and cupped Obi-Wan’s face with both hands, his fingers feeling the soft bristles of his beard on Anakin’s fingertips. Anakin carefully dragged Obi-Wan back up to look at him. “I love you,” Anakin said earnestly, and slowly leant across the space between them, brushing his lips against Obi-Wan’s forehead, impressing his sincere affection for the other man along their bond. “Thank you. For everything.”

Anakin could see a faint flush colouring Obi-Wan’s ears as he blinked at Anakin, before a slow, more genuine smile appeared and his fingers slid to tangle with Anakin’s, before luring them away from his face. “It is nothing, dear one,” Obi-Wan’s eyes darted to the cribs beside them, and back to Anakin. “It was worth it.”

Anakin had to bite his lip to keep from kissing him properly. Instead, he just rested his forehead on Obi-Wan’s, muttering out a final, “Thank you.”

Obi-Wan allowed the contact for a few moments before he began shifting away, the pink having spread from his ears to the edges of his cheekbones. Fuck that was cute. 

“Bed time, I think.” Anakin grinned and then darted across the room to switch off the light. He carefully navigated his way back to the bed and hopped in. He took the middle space and pressed up against Padmé’s side, placing a soft kiss placed behind her ear. She mumbled at him and snuggled in closer. Obi-Wan was still standing there, somewhere in the darkness.

“Get in, Obi-Wan,” Anakin called softly to the room.

The bed dipped on his other side as Obi-Wan climbed in, and Anakin felt properly relaxed for the first time in years. Everyone was safe. Everyone was alive.

His family was together.


	11. Babies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friends. Every add I get on Facebook and Tumblr now is pregnancy/baby related. Google is certain I am pregnant. The things I have searched for this fic. My god. Welcome to "babies are hard and tiring: the chapter"
> 
> Also! Huge freaking thanks to silver-ibis on Tumblr for the awesome fanart they drew for this fic. If you want to go check it out, here is a link: http://edenwolfie.tumblr.com/post/152338469981/tfw-someone-draws-you-totally-fucking-rad-fanart :D it's super cute and really helped me write this chapter, which was being a right pain in the butt.
> 
> As usual, it is un-beta'd (also this chapter kicked my ass so might to be a bit dodgy in places) so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Padmé was exhausted.

That was her first thought upon waking up. 

Her second thought was that she hurt all over. 

Padmé groaned as she roused herself into consciousness. She felt fucking terrible. All of her muscles felt tight and everything below her waist just ached painfully. While the pain was sharp, her mind still felt fuzzy, her thoughts sluggish and ragged about the edges. She tried to focus at a point on the wall but her eyes refused to listen.

Padmé turned her head ( _ouch_ ) to harass Anakin, but found the bed completely empty. No Anakin. There was a vague memory in her mind of Obi-Wan joining them as well, but he was not present either. The room was completely silent, so she had to assume they babies were gone as well. They’d probably all left her to sleep. Thoughtful.

She heard movement and turned her head back around to the door, wincing again at the strain in her neck. Anakin poked his head into the room, his hair swinging over his shoulder.

“Oh, Padmé, you're awake!” Anakin said brightly.

“Hey, darlin’.” Padmé smiled weakly.

Anakin swiftly moved across the room and sat beside her. He leant down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and then stroked his hand over the top of her head. Padmé leant into the touch like a Loth-cat seeking warmth and affection.

“How are you?”

“Tired,” she mumbled, blinking slowly. “Ev’rthing hurts. How’re th’babies?”

“They’re both fine. Obi-Wan and I are looking after them upstairs,” Anakin said, continuing to pet her. “Brato has been showing us what to do.”

“You’re nev’r gettin’ me pregn’t again,” Padmé informed him blearily. She _really_ hurt.

“Okay, sweetheart,” Anakin agreed. “You want to sleep some more?”

“Yeah.”

Anakin kissed her lips, murmuring, “I love you.”

Padmé just hummed happily in response, closing her eyes and weakly kissing back. Anakin stayed with her, his hand still running along its soothing path, until she quickly passed out again.

* * *

She awoke to screaming.

High pitched, powerful wailing traveled through the ceiling above her. That was a sound she was going to have to get used to. Padmé still hurt, but she didn’t feel quite as tired. Carefully, she escaped the bed. Her legs felt stiff and a bit wobbly, but through sheer determination she slowly walked upstairs.

The door opened to screaming set at a pitch yet undiscovered by human ears as the baby in Anakin’s arms shrieked bloody murder. Obi-Wan and Anakin were on the couch opposite the door holding a child each, with Brato on the opposite one. All three men looked up at her, their eyes squinted in pain at the sound. Artoo and Threepio were hanging out in the kitchen, Artoo beeping unhappily about the noise.

“What’s wrong?” Padmé called.

Brato shook his head. “Nothing. He’s just crying.”

Padmé moved to sit on the couch between Anakin and Obi-Wan, cooing down at Luke as he screamed.

“You want him?” Anakin asked.

Padmé nodded and held out her arms, carefully taking Luke from his father. He continued to cry for a few more minutes, but then slowly settled down, snuffling about against Padmé’s skin before falling off into sleep. All of them visibly relaxed at the quiet.

“How are they going?” Padmé asked, looking up from Luke’s tiny pink face.

“Both are healthy and behaving normally,” Brato said.

“Luke threw up on Obi-Wan,” Anakin added helpfully, with a touch of a smile.

Obi-Wan just hummed beside her. “That he did.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Brato said. “Now, how are you feeling?” 

“Really sore.”

He nodded. “That’s to be expected. I’ve left some painkillers on the kitchen bench to help with that. All your muscles just went through rather a lot of stress, so they’re going to be tense, and you’re going to hurt some more while your body goes back to its pre-pregnancy state.”

Brato carefully talked them though all of the things she would likely experience; more contractions for the next couple of days while her uterus shrunk back down and sore muscles until the strain healed. He explained that milk probably wouldn’t turn up for a couple of days, and that she should be perfectly fine to produce enough milk for both. She was not to have any sex until Brato gave her the all clear, was to avoid travel with the babies where possible, and they should be prepared for lots of emotional changes. That one went for all three of them. On top of looking after the babies, they all still needed to look after themselves. 

Padmé _nearly_ laughed in his face at that one.

He then explained how to care for the babies; regular feeding, regular changing, regular naps, and regular cuddles to promote bonding. He expounded that they were likely to cry _a lot_ for a plethora of reasons ranging from being hungry, being too hot or cold, being tired, being overstimulated, needing to be changed, because they wanted to be held, or just because they felt like it. Knowing which one it was was just going to take practice. He’d taken her through how to breastfeed properly last night, before getting some formula into them both and showing Padmé how to burp them. It was only after all of that that Brato had gone to announce the birth to Anakin and Obi-Wan. 

“Right,” Brato said finally, “a couple of things before I go; Firstly, I will come visit every other week just to see how you and the children are going and answer any questions that may arise. Secondly, I’m _fairly certain_ I heard some names I wasn’t meant to, so I would like to impress upon you my dedication to doctor-patient confidentiality, Senator, Generals.”

Anakin stiffened unhappily and Padmé felt her heart stutter in her chest. She’d been so out of it, she could have called either of them absolutely anything and have no idea she'd done so.

Brato ignored Anakin’s response. “I’d suggest you all change your appearance a bit as well; while you’re not well known this far out, any one else seeking refuge out here from the chaos of the Core is going to notice quickly.”

“You have high ethics for an Outer Rim doctor,” Obi-Wan said with laser-like focus on the other man, offset slightly by the way he was gently rocking Leia.

Brato smiled, shrugging. “I’m originally from the Core. Got out a year and a half back when the war started looking dodgy—I made the right choice, ey? I understand keeping the past in the past, I’m not going to turn you in.”

Anakin stared intensely at the Zabrak for a few moments, before offering up his hand. “Alright. Thank you.”

Brato shook his hand. “My pleasure, and my congratulations; I will leave you all to it for now. Though if one of you could take me back into town?” 

Obi-Wan volunteered and Anakin quickly pulled together a shopping list for food and necessities for the next week or so. Padmé and Brato shot suggestions at him as he wrote them down. Supplies for both them and the twins.

Anakin had smiled as he passed the shopping list over to Obi-Wan, taking Leia off of him, saying, “Be safe.”

Obi-Wan had smiled and disappeared out the door with Brato, leaving her with Anakin and their children. They curled up on the couch together, a baby each between them. Now that Padmé wasn’t so fuzzy from the drugs she could really look at her children. Both were so small tucked up in their arms, with just their faces poking out of the blankets they were swaddled in. 

“They’re so cute,” Padmé said, turning to look at Anakin.

His eyes were practically glowing with happiness as he smiled back. “They’re both perfect. Look at their tiny little faces.” Anakin reached down and softly touched his finger to Leia’s nose. “Such a tiny nose.”

Padmé laughed. “Anakin, don’t poke her face.”

“She likes it,” he said, gently stroking his finger along her nose. She seemed to like it, or at least tolerate it, remaining happily asleep. Anakin sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy.”

“Oh darling—”

Anakin rambled on, “I was just so worried that something terrible was going to happen, and it hasn’t, and I’m just _so happy, Padmé_. You’re all okay.” He leant his forehead against hers, exhaling loudly.

She leant into him, enjoying the mix of his scent with the sweet, milky, baby smell. “Anakin?”

“Yeah?”

Padmé grinned. “We’re parents.”

“It’s really weird,” Anakin agreed.

Padmé pulled back and leant back against the couch, pulling Luke closer to her chest, enjoying watching his facial expressions as he slept. He seemed to have Anakin’s nose with little fuzzy tufts of blonde hair on his head. She wondered what he had of hers. What Leia would have. Padmé hoped the darkness of the universe never touched either of them. She prayed to all her home-world’s Gods that Sidious never found them. She could only imagine the terrible things he would do if he got his hands on them.

“You have never looked more beautiful, darling,” Anakin said beside her, his voice rich and warm, quickly pulling her out of her dark thoughts.

Padmé scrunched her nose and looked down at herself doubtfully. She certainly didn’t feel beautiful; scruffy and tired and a complete mess, maybe.

“You are,” Anakin smiled at her obvious disbelief, “trust me.”

“I don’t feel it,” Padmé admitted. 

Anakin leant down, placing a soft hand beneath her jaw, and gave her a slow kiss. “The most beautiful,” Anakin whispered still kissing her, “so pretty, the most gorgeous, what a stunning lady,” and on and on he went, until Padmé was giggling uncontrollably into the kiss. 

“Ani—!” she laughed, trying to turn her face away without jostling Luke.

“What a babe, I love you so much, so terribly pretty—” Anakin kept going, happily kissing whatever he could reach of her face.

“Okay! You win! I’m pretty!” Padmé relented, still giggling, and Anakin finally backed off.

He leant back, grinning smugly. “That’s what I thought.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but was still smiling. That was just what she needed; she felt lighter. 

“I need to do the vaporator round, will you be okay for a little while?” Anakin asked.

“I’ll be fine, you’re not going far.”

He kissed her cheek and nodded. “Call if you need me. Artoo! Come help.”

Anakin then carefully passed her Leia and left her to her own devices, heading outside with Artoo whistling behind him. Padmé stared down at the two infants in her arms, now wrapped snugly in their kitted blankets. Leia, displeased that her father had left, decided that crying was the way forward.Luke half woke at the sound, eyes opening blearily again, but just scrunched his face in displeasure. 

Padmé curled Leia slightly closer to her chest and shushed her, gently bouncing her into sleep. Leia resisted at first, continuing to cry loudly, before the rhythmic rocking and soothing sounds from her mother managed to slowly calm her. Her cries slowly downgraded to unhappy whining, before she gave up entirely and fell asleep.

Now, they were both perfectly quiet. Leia had fallen dead asleep, while Luke blinked up at her with his father’s stunning, stormy-blue eyes. Padmé smiled at him, warmth filling her heart at his sweet little face. She chatted inanely to him for a short time before he too, drifted back off to sleep.

Then it hit her. 

These were _hers_. She and Anakin _made_ these and yet they were their own tiny people, who would grow and change. It wasn’t necessarily a new thought, or an unusual one, but it was only just now that it really hit home for her. She loved them, more than anything. She knew, instinctively, that if anyone, _ever_ tried to hurt them, she would eviscerate them without hesitation. Padmé would happily shoot Palpatine in his lying, treasonous face if he _ever_ came anywhere near them. 

_She loved them._

Suddenly Padmé was crying, smiling down at her children and weeping uselessly. She was just so fucking happy and relieved everything had ended okay and they were here in her arms. “I love you,” she sobbed to the slumbering pair, completely oblivious to their mother’s state. “I love you so much, my darlings.”

The door swung open some time later, and Anakin returned in in a swirl of sand, the smile on his face dimming when he saw Padmé.

“Sweetheart?” Anakin asked, moving to kneel in front of her. “What’s wrong?”

Padmé smiled at him through her tears. “Nothing. I’m so happy. I love them. I love you. Join me?”

“Of course.”

Anakin picked up Luke and slid in beside her, carefully arranging themselves to be beside one another without squashing either child. They lay on the couch together and Padmé basked in the overwhelming love she felt for them all.

She let out the breath she had been holding for the past month.

* * *

The first week passed in a blur as the days devolved into a routine of feeding the twins formula, changing them, and strategically napping when they did. The twins generally wanted to be fed every couple of hours, night or day, so none of them were really getting a solid nights sleep. They were barely getting any sleep, full stop. They had come up with a rotational system for the three of them; two of them sleeping in the room with the babies, in charge of overnight feeding, and one of them in Obi-Wan’s room, getting (theoretically) a full nights sleep every third night. Even after her milk turned up, they would try to give Padmé a night off, but that would often end with her feeling sore and going to feed them anyway. It also didn’t help that Luke and Leia often wouldn’t quite synch up with when they wanted feeding. 

On top of all of this, they still had to keep up the work on the vaporators. Padmé was completely off the roster, on full-time resting and feeding duty, so Obi-Wan and Anakin just took turns back and forth, with Anakin still having to fix up the broken ones. Anakin also tried to keep on top of the leftover repair jobs he’d picked up before the birth. 

About a week into their new routine they decided to follow Brato’s advice and try to change up their appearances. Padmé had lopped off most of her hair, cutting it so it only just reached her shoulders. Anakin had been sad to see it go, but after weeks in the Tatooine suns, Padmé had actually been relieved to hack off the extra weight. It also prevented the strands getting in the way when feeding, so it was a double bonus in her opinion.

Anakin, still too recognisable with short hair (and the fact that she had _hated_ his Padawan haircut) had left his hair long, but taken to tying it back, which did a surprising amount to changing his overall look. He had also agreed to try a grow a bit of a beard, but after a few days, Padmé decided it was literally the worst thing she’d ever seen and demanded he get rid of it. 

Obi-Wan had shaved his beard which had been exceptionally weird for the first few days, making him look years younger and much more like the dashing young Jedi from Naboo from so many years ago. That had certainly set her heart fluttering. She’d had _such_ the crush on him back then, and who could blame her; a handsome and charming young man, coming to her planet’s aid had done a lot for her fourteen year old self. Now compounded with him caring for her children as though they were his, was _really_ doing terrible things to her feelings for him.

Padmé had nearly kissed him in a sleep-addled state one morning. She’d sidled up to Anakin and given him a long kiss, before she’d turned to Obi-Wan, brain completely set on giving him similar treatment. Her thought processes kicked into gear halfway there, and she managed to save herself by turning it into a _totally casual_ hug and peck on the cheek. Anakin had caught it, and had stared at her, caught between being thrilled and horrified. Padmé had flashed him an embarrassed expression. Her brain had been completely running on auto-pilot.

Basically, the three of them were utterly exhausted by the time Brato next turned up.

When Padmé had opened the door, hair a mess, in yesterday’s clothes, and with Leia clutched to her breast, Brato had just let out a laugh.

“How goes motherhood?” he asked, grinning.

“I have never been so kriffing tired in my entire life,” Padmé said, stepping aside to let him in. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, dealing with an increase in blaster wounds at work, but nothing unusual. Time to have a look at the babes.” He nodded at Leia. “Let’s see the other one first, you finish feeding her.”

Obi-Wan was seated on the couch with Luke, Anakin having fallen asleep downstairs some time earlier. Brato sat on the table in front of Obi-Wan and reached out for Luke, who was absently staring around the room while sucking on his hand.

Brato carefully looked Luke over while Padmé resumed feeding Leia. Once she was fed and burped, Brato gave Luke back to Obi-Wan and checked Leia over as well, before handing her back and chatting to Padmé. Brato announced that the pair of them had put on a good amount of weight and were looking perfectly healthy. He was pleased to hear most of her soreness had gone away and that Padmé was having no troubles with feeding them both. He was also impressed with their rotational napping system and how well all three of them were going.

Padmé didn’t think they were managing terribly, but all their pre-baby worries had been completely left by the wayside and she wasn’t sure that was a good thing. 

Obi-Wan was still only sleeping fitfully, but instead of it just being Obi-Wan, it was now all three of them. He was also a bit twitchier than he had been before the birth, seemingly still rattled from whatever had transpired between him and Anakin the night the twins were born. He also still wasn’t exhibiting any signs of staying permanently, a worry that just niggled at the back of her mind beneath all the baby worry.

Anakin was mostly fine, and desperately in love with his children, but she had still noticed how household items would faintly shake when he’d been awake too long or one of the babies just _wouldn’t stop crying_. It stressed him out when they did that.

“I don’t know what’s _wrong_!” He’d cried the first time it happened, gently jostling Luke in his arms. Luke had been crying for half an hour by that point, wailing unhappily at the top of his lungs. Anakin had reached the end of his rope and every item in the lounge had started vibrating.

Padmé had tried to help; taking Luke to hold, walking around the room, and singing to him, but the crying had just continued until she too was ready to cry along with him.

Obi-Wan had then come in from his vaporator round and been overwhelmed by the stress in the room, both Padmé and Anakin practically begging for help. Obi-Wan had taken a moment to stare at the situation before calmly saying, “Anakin, close your bond to him.”

Anakin had frowned, apparently done so, and after a few minutes, Luke quieted.

“What the fuck?” Padmé had asked very eloquently.

“Luke started crying, Anakin got stressed, Luke picked up on the stress and kept crying, Anakin became more stressed, and on it went; It was an endless feedback loop of both of them being very stressed and unhappy,” Obi-Wan explained.

“Well. That makes an unfortunate amount of sense,” Anakin grumbled, but was calmer now the crying had stopped.

That had helped for future interactions, Anakin seeming to become more practiced at sending calm and security to both twins to help calm them, or at least block the bond they had with him. Most of the time it worked. Not always. Sometimes they just _really_ wanted to scream. 

Padmé could relate.

“Do you have any questions for me?” Brato prompted, drawing her attention back out of her head.

“How long until they start sleeping through the night?” Padmé asked with a touch of desperation.

“Usually after about 4 months, possibly later. You’ve still got a while longer of being woken up, though you will start to get longer periods between feeds as they grow.” Brato smiled. “Anything else?”

Padmé shook her head. “Not so far. We’re all just tired.”

“That’s normal. How are you doing emotionally?”

Padmé smiled, thinking back over the past week. “I seem to be good at randomly crying.” That she was. From that first moment when she’d really held her babies, to running out of milk for tea, to just because Anakin looked at her funny. Padmé had felt terrible about that one. He’d been very worried.

“From sadness?” Brato leant forward.

Padmé shook her head. “Mainly from feeling tired and overwhelmed. It’s… been a tough few weeks.” 

“Well, keep an eye on that. Let me know if it starts being sadness,” the Zabrak said and clapped his hands together. “So, clean bill of health for them and you; anything I can do for you before I leave?”

“No. Can I get you some water before you go?”

“Please."

Padmé left Brato and Obi-Wan in the lounge and fetched a glass of water from the kitchen with Leia still tucked up against her. She was getting very good at doing things one-handed while she had a child in the other. 

“How are you?” Brato asked conversationally to Obi-Wan.

“Fine,” Obi-Wan said. “How are you?”

There was a questionable pause. “I’m good. How are you enjoying being a parent?”

Padmé turned just in time to see the perplexed expression on Obi-Wan’s face.

“I’m not a parent,” Obi-Wan returned. “However the twins are very cute and loveable, if tiring.”

“Yeah you are,” Padmé said, passing the glass to Brato and sitting beside Obi-Wan. “Baby swap? Luke needs feeding.” Obi-Wan and she traded children, beginning to feed Luke before she returned to her earlier point, “You’re raising them just as much as Anakin and I are. You’re a parent.”

Obi-Wan didn’t say anything and just petted the dark fuzz on Leia’s head. Her hair seemed to be the same dark brown of Padmé’s, tufting out about her head while Luke’s was the lighter brown-blonde of his father. This silent treatment that Obi-Wan would do on occasion really grated against her nerves. He would sometimes just stop arguing back and she couldn’t tell if it was agreement, disagreement, or an unwillingness to argue the point. It was really begining to get to her. Why couldn’t he just fucking accept that they wanted him here? Padmé sighed, readjusting Luke in her arms.

Brato drank the water, eyes absently following the conversation. Padmé suspected he knew exactly what was going on here. Either that or he was just excellent at looking like he knew all of the available secrets.

“Well, time for me to go,” Brato said, breaking the extended silence and placing the glass beside him on the table. “I’ll be back in a fortnight to check on you all again.”

* * *

The rest of the twins first few months passed in a sleep-deprived blur, continuing to follow their created routine. Brato checked in periodically, proclaiming everything fine each time, and eventually clearing Padmé of any issues and deeming her fine for sex again (which, first of all, had been a very weird conversation to have and, secondly, it was not like she had anywhere near enough energy for that anyway). He’d also chucked her a very comprehensive selection of contraception which _had_ thrilled her. She adored her children, she really did, but she had no intention of going through all that again. Two were definitely enough in her opinion. Especially while they were essentially in exile and on the run from the Empire.

Luke and Leia slowly grew, turning from small, cute blobs, into bigger, chubbier blobs. Padmé adored squishing their cheeks, they was just so soft and sweet! She also loved burying her face in their hair, inhaling their sweet baby scent. Luke’s eyes had remained the lovely blue of his father, while Leia’s changed to match Padmé’s brown eyes. Their distinctive personalities were also slowly peeking through. Both were certainly loud and frequent in their crying, but Leia was distinctly fussier than her brother, who tended to be more docile. However, when he was upset, Luke was an absolute nightmare. Both were also highly proficient at throwing up. Neither Padmé, Anakin or Obi-Wan ever burped one of them without a washable blanket over their shoulder after the first week. They knew better now.

Artoo and Threepio weren’t quite sure what to make of the babies to begin with, and had avoided interacting why them for the first couple of weeks. Neither of them went downstairs anymore as the noise they both made to get there would often disturb the twins, so the pair of them tended to remain in the living room or help out on the flats with the vaporators. 

After they had grown some, Threepio would watch the twins when needed, but couldn’t be left with them for too long as he became anxious when they would cry. Artoo was better with that, discovering one afternoon that they really liked staring at his holo-projections. From there, Artoo entertained them with classified videos, battle formations, and schematics. Anakin had just sighed resignedly when he noticed exactly what Artoo was doing, but left it alone, the droid having enough common sense to not show them anything graphic. 

Anakin had taken to fatherhood with gusto, showering the pair of them with love and attention and affection. He’d also perfected doing chores while holding one of them, at least until Anakin had found sections of his old Jedi robes and started cheating. He’d found his old tabards and discovered that he could fit a child in the cloth, and then wrap the remainder around his body and have an excellent baby wrap. Once he had stumbled upon that, he was unstoppable, able to cook dinner and do maintenance on tech while toting a baby around on his chest. From there, all three of them had picked up the habit, freeing up their hands a bit more.

Obi-Wan continued to be a complete pain in the ass. She _knew_ he was disappearing at night, going to meditate or _something_ outside when he was supposed to be having his night off and sleeping. She left it for now. They were all dealing with their stress and exhaustion differently and if it made him feel better to go meditate for an evening, then she wasn’t going to interfere. Obi-Wan was, however, excellent with the children. He cared for them as much as she and Anakin did, always ready to help out in any way he could, and could be found at almost any time of the day with a twin or two in his arms. 

Obi-Wan clearly loved them both dearly. Padmé had caught him chatting away to them numerous times, just inanely relating events and stories to them both. They loved it, staring up at Obi-Wan in interest as he spoke. Padmé suspected that he too had a Force bond of some kind with the twins. Both he and Anakin were both so in tune with their needs that it was uncanny.

All three of them also seemed to have developed the skill to fall asleep in the most ridiculous of situations. She’d done it while feeding the twins, thinking she’d just close her eyes for a moment, until a crying, hiccuping baby had woken her. Obi-Wan had once just dropped off while eating dinner, his head was resting on his hand when he had shut his eyes. He’d then fallen asleep and smacked his head on the table, throwing him painfully back into wakefulness. Anakin and Padmé had sent him off for a nap after that.

One of the most memorable moments for her had been a couple of weeks after the birth when Anakin had sat down beside her on the couch, having just put the children to bed, and leant in for a kiss. She’d relaxed into it, thrilled by the gentle intimacy. Anakin, however, a good ten seconds into the kiss, started snoring. He’d just passed out mid-kiss. 

Padmé had pulled away and whacked him on the arm.

“You fell asleep!” Padmé had accused him, torn between insult and amusement.

Anakin had flushed a dark pink and stuttered out an apology, before Padmé had given in, kissed him again, and pulled his head to rest on her chest. He’d fallen asleep again in moments.

She also particularly enjoyed walking in when her family had dropped off together. There had been one particular incident when she’d been unable to find them, softly calling to find Anakin. They weren’t in the lounge and they weren’t in her bedroom when she searched them, and eventually she found them all in Obi-Wan’s room, spread on his mattress. Padmé had smiled at the scene before her. Anakin and Obi-Wan were dead asleep, still in a somewhat upright position against the wall, with Anakin slumped over so his head rested on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. Still cradled in their arms were the babies; Leia curled into Obi-Wan’s chest and Luke tucked in Anakin’s arm. She’d desperately wanted a picture of that. 

Carefully, she snuck back out of the room and found a holo-recorder, before tiptoeing back in and taking a few sneaky shots of the scene. Padmé couldn’t help but smile. As much as they were all fucking wrecked for the first few weeks, Obi-Wan was now sleeping more often than he had been before their birth, and in a kind of terrible way, he was sleeping _better_ because none of them were sleeping long enough to dream.

She had tucked the recorder away and slid in beside Obi-Wan, Anakin far too close to the edge of the bed for her to be able to fit in there. Padmé snuggled her face against his chest where she could see Leia, before hooking an arm over Obi-Wan’s stomach and rested a hand on Anakin. She’d just closed her eyes for a moment before she too was fast asleep.

Slowly, gently, all five of them settled into their routine, and Padmé, while exhausted, had never felt happier as their lives settled again. As it neared the fourth month after the birth, the twins were nearly sleeping through the night, only waking perhaps once or twice. All of them were slightly less exhausted when Anakin brought up their relationship again.

“When are we going to talk to Obi-Wan?” Anakin suddenly asked one night when it was their turn to do the overnight feeding.

Padmé adjusted Luke so he could feed easier. “About what?”

He levelled a blank stare at her before waggling his eyebrows. Leia stared up at her father’s expression with interest.

“Oh!” Padmé laughed. “About us.”

“Obviously,” Anakin said.

She rolled her eyes at him. “It could have been anything! You could have been asking when we were going to talk to him about not fucking off in the middle of the night.”

Anakin stilled. “What?”

Padmé blinked her brain suddenly panicking. Had Anakin not noticed? That was not a drama she wanted to start; why must her sleep deprived brain let her speak before thinking? 

“He sometimes goes outside to meditate,” Padmé said in a _very calm_ voice, trying to indicate that everything was fine. Nothing to worry about. Let the stupid, handsome Jedi go dick about in the desert on his own.

Anakin was frowning. “At _night_?”

“Uh-huh,” Padmé said noncommittally.

“And you didn’t think to mention it?”

“ _I thought you knew,”_ Padmé huffed at him. “ _You’re_ the one with the literal connection to his mind _._ ”

“It’s dangerous at night!” Anakin said, frustrated.

“It’s not like he can’t protect himself!” Padmé returned. “This is why I never mentioned it. We don’t need to worry about it. Obi-Wan can look after himself.”

Anakin made a face at that; and yes, to be fair, Obi-Wan had a proven track record of _not_ looking after himself. 

“Okay. Sorry, you're right,” Padmé conceded finally, using her free hand to rub her face. “I’m just so fucking tired I can’t find it in me to worry about anything non-baby related.”

“I know,” Anakin said, leaning across the space and pressing an apologetic kiss to her cheek. “I should go talk to Obi-Wan. He really shouldn’t be out there at night.”

“You sure that’ll help?”

Anakin shrugged. “We’ve been doing better.”

“What… what did happen with you two the night I gave birth?” Padmé asked. The question had been floating around the back of her mind for the last few weeks. Her actually memory of the night was vague and fuzzy from a winning combination of drugs, pain, and exhaustion.

Anakin sighed and explained the events of that evening in a soft, flat tone. She was upset to hear how they had acted around each other that night. Padmé understood that both of them had been ridiculously stressed, but as a pair of grown men, they _really_ should know better. 

Then she heard about the vision. 

_That_ was horrifying. Padmé irrationally clutched Luke closer to her, reassuring herself he was real. They had come _so_ _close_ to losing absolutely everything. Anakin was still visibly rattled, forced to relate the terrible fucking things he did. Didn’t do. Nearly did. As he finished the story, they placed the twins in their cribs before the pair of them lay on the blankets of their bed, staring up at the ceiling. Padmé took a hold of his hand, offering comfort and support. 

“Are you sure you still want me here?” Anakin asked softly.

Padmé sat up suddenly, staring down at him in horror. “Of course I do, Ani. Why would you think I wouldn’t?”

Anakin blinked up at her. “Because that was nearly me. What if I turn again? What if I hurt you or the twins?”

“Oh darling,” Padmé sighed. “I trust you. You love me and them and Obi-Wan, and _you_ wouldn’t do anything to hurt us. Besides, the person I saw on Mustafar was not _you_. That was someone who’d been manipulated and trapped by an evil asshole.” Padmé trailed her fingers through his hair.“That’s not you anymore. You’ve been doing so much better. Do you feel scared and angry anymore?”

“No,” Anakin said after a moment of thought.

“Do you regret what you did?”

Anakin frowned. “Yes. Obviously.”

“Then there you go. You’ve learnt from your mistakes and you won’t do it again.” Padmé leant down and brushed their noses together. “I trust you completely, Ani. You’re a great dad and I love you.”

“Thank you,” Anakin murmured. 

He curled a hand around the back of her head and pulled her down for a soft, grateful kiss. Padmé exhaled happily, having missed their easy intimacy since the twins had been born. They had both been way too tired and focused on other things to really focus on one another.

She felt her hair catch in his hand.

“Ani, that better not be your mech hand.” Padmé smiled against his lips.

Anakin let go, whining, “Still? Come on, your hair’s so short now, surely it’s not a problem.”

“I can feel when it catches,” Padmé said. “We are not wasting time untangling me when we could be doing other things.”

Anakin paused. “Oh?”

Padmé grinned and tossed a leg over him, grinning happily. “Yeah.”

Her fingers set to work untying the strings of his sleeping pants, a tooth caught on her lip, thoroughly determined. Reaching her goal, Padmé grinned before she kissed him again and stroked along his length, bringing him to full attention. Anakin groaned into her mouth, pleasure rushing up his spine, his hand grasping upwards and tangling in her hair.

Padmé pulled back, and lifted herself up above him, sending him a sly smile and a wink. Anakin had no idea how he had found such an amazing woman. Slowly, she lowered herself down onto Anakin’s cock, her brown eyes fluttering shut. She let out a breath once fully seated and Anakin felt hot all over, his breath heavy in his chest.

Padmé was a vision above him, her head thrown back and chest heaving. She felt incredible around him, warm and soft and welcoming. Unable to resist, he clasped her hips, running his hands up and down her legs beneath her night gown.

“Ah, yes,” she purred, “that’s it, darling.”

Anakin flushed at the praise, feeling warmth suffuse his whole body. Padmé just breathed for a few moments, staring down at Anakin with dark eyes. He could feel a flush crawl further up his neck at the attention.

“There’s my handsome man,” Padmé exhaled with a smile. “You stay still, sweetheart.”

She began rocking her hips backwards and forward along his torso, moving tantalisingly slowly and sending tight sparks of arousal throughout his body. Padmé’s hair fell gently over her shoulder, swaying gently as she moved. Her dark eyes carefully watched Anakin, a cheeky smirk appearing at each groan she wrung out of him. She in turn sighed out her pleasure, slowly speeding up her movements in increments, mouth gently parted.

Padmé was relentless, and Anakin felt he pressure mounting. Struggling to keep his composure, his hands greedily felt up every piece of skin he could reach. Her thighs were soft and pliant beneath his hands, and the overwhelming sensations were pushing him ever closer to the edge.

“Padmé,” Anakin tried, his fingers grasping at her helplessly, “I can’t—”

Padmé just beamed at him, not slowing for a moment, as breathless as he was. Anakin could feel the tight coil in is belly building; tight and fucking unbearable. He huffed breathlessly, head thrown back, in a vain attempt to hold on against the encroaching tide.

“Come on, darling,” Padmé murmured, her fingertips stroking along his stomach. “Let go.”

He did. Anakin’s breath stuttered as he came hard, his vision whiting out briefly, pleasure rushing through his body. He felt as though he was burning up from the inside.

He lay, staring up listlessly at his wife while his brain restarted, relishing the satisfied expression on Padmé’s face. When he came back to himself and before she could do anything more, Anakin surged upward, Padmé rolling back slightly onto his thighs, as he kissed her forcefully. His fingers grasped everything they could reach, rucking her nightgown up higher, and fondling her breasts.

Padmé laughed into the kiss, surprised, before it devolved into short moans and scratches along Anakin’s back, sharp and tingling on his over-sensitised skin. Anakin carefully laid Padmé back on the bed, splaying himself beside her, and hovering above the top part of her body. He continued to kiss her, assertive and demanding, and slipped his hand up her skirt.

“Ani,” Padmé murmured against his mouth. “Yes.”

His hand found her warmth, and he stroked her gently, revelling in Padmé’s soft cries. Anakin then released her mouth and latched onto her neck, suckling gently at her skin.

“Yes. Fuck.” Padmé’s fingers clutched at his shirt, tugging him closer. “Ani.”

He could hear her panting beside him, muttering endearments into his ear. Her hips thrust against his hand, her nails still digging into his back, desperate and needy. Anakin released her neck, hand still working against her warmth. He stared down at her, drinking in her pleasured expression; Padmé’s chocolate eyes half open, nearly black with lust, her mouth slack and desperately sucking in air. Padmé swallowed thickly and her hips thrust weakly against him, slowly becoming less coordinated.

Anakin leant in again, catching her mouth in his and increased the pace at which his fingers worked her. She kissed back, the small sounds escaping her mouth increasing until he felt her her tense beside him. Her fingers gripped his hair tightly, pulling nearly to the point of pain, whispering, “Fuck, yes!” before her whole body seized up and she let out a long moan into his mouth. Padmé shuddered through her orgasm, sucking in breath desperately, her body quivering against him.

“Fuck,” Padmé panted into the front of Anakin’s shirt. She took some time to catch her breath, slowly relinquishing her hold on his hair. Her whole body went slack and her head dropped back to the couch, completely wrung out. “You’ve still got it.” she confirmed and Anakin laughed.

Soon after, when they were clean and curled around each other, Anakin spoke again. “So, we got a bit distracted there. When are we going to talk to Obi-Wan about us?”

Padmé chuckled into his chest, tracing an absent hand along his stomach. “How well do you think he’s going to take the conversation?”

Anakin made a very non-committal sound, caught between “yeah” and “ehhh”.

Padmé sighed, that had been her thought as well. They _really_ had to get it right the first time.

“Should it just be one of us then? So he doesn’t feel ambushed?” she thought out loud.

Anakin laughed. “Stars, no! He’d just worry about cheating before he even listened to what you had to say.” He took a deep breath. “This is going to be harder than I thought. He’s so kriffing stubborn.”

“Yes. Well. We should come up with a proper plan, and then pick a time,” Padmé said. “Though I think we should try to be quick about it, he’s been acting twitchy and I don’t trust it.”

“I noticed that too,” Anakin mumbled.

They came up with an outline of a plan, but still needed to refine it. Padmé recognised the need to tread carefully, and not scare him away. She would dearly like for him to become a part of what she and Anakin were. It had started from a desire to make Anakin happy and a quiet crush on her part, but her feelings had changed over the past few months. Padmé now very much adored Obi-Wan. She wasn’t quite at love, but she felt that she was pretty damn close, and she really hoped Obi-Wan would hear them out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> by the way guys, if you want to see the worst fucking thing youve ever seen, google hayden christensen with a beard. my god. i regret it.


	12. Leaving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So um. This happened.
> 
> As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy...

Obi-Wan sat on the rocky outcropping above the house. 

It was still dark out, the stars dancing brightly in the sky above him, neither sun even considering poking their heads above the horizon yet. He sat in the cold, a blanket wrapped around him, staring absently out at the pitch black desert.

The past few months had passed quickly and everything was going relatively perfectly. Padmé had fully recovered from the birth, taking to breastfeeding with ease and was an absolute sight to behold. Even exhausted and constantly dealing with the twins, she still glowed, powered by some bright inner light. It was obvious how much she loved the twins, constantly caring for and doting on the pair of them. 

Anakin equally adored them and discovered new ways to care for them whilst he fulfilled his other responsibilities. Obi-Wan was now very proficient at fixing vaporators so he at least took some that off of Anakin’s hands, as after two weeks of childrearing, Anakin had had a backlog of repairs he had to do. Most people were very accomodating and would bring whatever needed fixing to the homestead for Seripas to tinker with, but if it was unable to be moved then Anakin would have to make a trip. However, now that the twins were getting bigger and required less constant care, he was able to return to his repair work. It proved to also be a good outlet for his stress. Children were not easy.

Anakin hadn’t had another real outburst since the twins birth. He was stressed and exhausted and occasionally crabby, but nothing beyond that. No explosive reactions, no severe mood swings and it was doing a lot to help Obi-Wan’s state of mind. He was still mortified that Anakin had seen his vision of Mustafar. It had taken him a week to be able to look Anakin in the eye again. Anakin had tried to talk to Obi-Wan about it a few times, but Obi-Wan had brushed him off. He did not feel up to that conversation. He would get over it eventually. He didn’t need to drag Anakin into it as well. Anakin had more pressing things to worry about. Namely, Luke and Leia.

The children were happy and healthy, with the usual amounts of crying and intermittent sleeping which exhausted their parents and Obi-Wan. He loved the twins with all his heart, and spent countless hours caring for them both. He loved the mental feedback from them; the pair were happy and healthy and constantly projecting that joy into the Force when he was nearby. Obi-Wan also had a thin bond tying him to both of them, a fact that had surprised him when he finally noticed it. 

He was first made aware of it when he’d been holding Luke, become distracted by something Padmé had said to him, and then felt a tiny poke at his awareness. Luke had been vying for his attention, unhappy he was being ignored. 

“You cheeky thing,” Obi-Wan had said, smirking down at Luke. 

He’d then later tested it with Leia and found a similar connection. Both twins projected so strongly that being in the house was usually a very calm and welcoming experience. When they were upset however, Obi-Wan’s shields went straight up, blocking out the displeasure they would share with the world. He found it… distressing.

Obi-Wan had also taken to ducking out of the house at night when it was his night off; it was why he was out here now, wrapped up in a blanket beneath the stars. He just needed time away, sometimes to meditate, sometimes to train with his ‘saber. Essentially, just time to recenter himself and push aside his unnecessary feelings. 

Obi-Wan had caught himself looking at Padmé far more than he was used to and it _terrified_ him. 

He’d noticed in the past that she was a beautiful woman, but as more of an abstract, passing thought. Now, it was in a much more pressing observation. He’d caught himself watching her a few times too many, admiring her smile or the way her eyelashes would fall on her cheek as she slept. He would watch as she cared for the twins, her focus completely centred on them, with Padmé’s eyes filled with adoration for her children. 

The affection between her and Anakin continued to grate uncomfortably against his senses. Normally, it would not have been an issue and he could brush it off, but both of them seemed to have extended this affectionate behaviour to him and were just so _tactile_ that it was incredibly difficult to ignore. He’d woken up once, cradling Leia and found himself unexpectedly sandwiched between Anakin and Padmé. He’d known Anakin was beside him when he had fallen asleep, Anakin having been the one to pass out first, but why Padmé was snuggled up against him? That he didn’t understand. Her face had been pressed into his chest, fast asleep, with an arm and leg slung across him, warm and gently breathing against his skin. He’d been trapped there for another hour or so, unwilling to wake either of them in an attempted escape.

It _was_ terrifying though. 

Obi-Wan just had this incessant worry in the back of his mind that Anakin would _notice_. Anakin had been furious during their first few days on Tatooine when Padmé had turned to Obi-Wan for comfort. He had been _convinced_ that they were cheating (evidently another layer of Sidious’ machinations) and Obi-Wan did not want to feed further into that fear. He would try to pull away from Padmé when she was overly affectionate with him, though she was not always easily dissuaded.

Obi-Wan turned over each of these thoughts and tucked them away, letting them go in the Force. 

A final, familiar thought coalesced in his mind: It was time for him to leave.

Feeling less confused and conflicted, he stood, pulling the blanket tighter around him, and trudged carefully back down the slope to the homestead. He snuck back into the house and into his room; it wouldn’t do for him to disturb the Skywalkers. Obi-Wan decided he may as well have a brief nap before everyone was up and about again. He crawled back onto his mattress, curled the blanket and duvet around him, and attempted to sleep.

* * *

Obi-Wan woke with a jolt, the squeak of the door to his room sounding as it opened suddenly.

Padmé stood in the doorway, a cringe on her face. “Sorry for waking you. Breakfast is up.”

Obi-Wan sat up commenting, “There was a distinctive lack of screaming this morning.”

“I caught them before the crying began,” Padmé said. “Coming?”

Obi-Wan nodded and exited the mattress. Padmé’s eyes dropped to the sand that fell from his clothes to the floor, evidence from his late night outing.

Padmé pressed her lips together for a moment before saying, “As a heads up, Anakin is likely to corner you about that later; I accidentally mentioned it to him last night. I tried to deter him, I know you need space sometimes, but you know how he gets.” She shrugged. “He worries. Just thought I’d warn you.”

“Oh.” He hadn’t realised she’d known about his night-time excursions. Obi-Wan was terribly thankful that she had left him to it. Having some time to compose himself was keeping him sane. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “No problem. Now come up for breakfast.” Padmé turned and walked off.

Obi-Wan sighed, brushing off the last few grains. He was begining to understand Anakin’s distaste for the irritating granules. They really did get _everywhere_.

After quickly changing, he headed upstairs to join Anakin and Padmé for breakfast. Luke and Leia were lying on a cloth scattered with soft toys Padmé had knitted for them. Leia had rolled over to her tummy and was grasping at Luke’s clothing, while Luke was distracted by the knitted Artoo Padmé had made. Both of the twins were much bigger now, slowly becoming more autonomous and able to entertain themselves for a short time. 

Obi-Wan leant over the two of them and smiled before Luke let out a joyous, ringing laugh. Obi-Wan blinked down at Luke, surprised, and Anakin and Padmé’s heads whipped around to look. 

“Well that’s new,” Anakin said brightly. “Who was that?”

“Luke,” Obi-Wan said.

Padmé came down from the table and knelt beside them, cooing, “Who’s my happy boy?”

Luke giggled again, extending his hands to his mother and dropping Artoo. Leia, interested in what was going on, rolled onto her back and blinked up at them all, babbling softly and blinking her brown eyes at them.

Obi-Wan left Padmé to it and joined Anakin at the table. He tucked into the plate of bread and fruits left out for him while Anakin just quietly watched Padmé playing with the twins on the floor. Fruit was an uncommon treat in such a wasteland, but Anakin had repaired the heating unit of a trader with inner core contacts, and thus had been paid in a selection of berries and melons. Padmé had been overjoyed.

“What about you, sweetheart? Any giggles for Mum?” Padmé asked, stroking a hand along Leia’s cheek. Leia just kept on mumbling and latched a hand onto her mother’s fingers. Obi-Wan suspected she was going to be quite the talker when she finally got the hang on it.

Obi-Wan stood after eating, headed toward the door, saying, “I’ll be back. Just checking the vaporators.”

Anakin’s head swivelled around. “I’ll come help.”

Padmé had warned him. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to dissuade Anakin, it would be easier to get it out of the way.

“If you want,” Obi-Wan said.

The pair of them circled the yard, checking each vaporator and making idle conversation. “Well that vaporator looks fine…” Anakin said, hands resting on his hips. “So, uh, Padmé mentioned that you’ve been going outside at night?”

Ah, Anakin trying to make a subtle segue. Always a joy.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said, standing up on his toes to brush away the sand that had collected on the air intake vents.

Anakin was quiet for a moment before settling on, “Why?”

“I just need some time away to meditate,” Obi-Wan replied. “As we are all aware, the last few months have been very stressful.”

Understatement. Obi-Wan was only just begining to feel like himself again. He was still jumpy at unexpected sounds, and would occasionally just need time away from Anakin. Those moments pained both of them; Obi-Wan felt incredibly guilty about needing to get away, and Anakin always noticed now when it happened, unable to hide the small, crestfallen expression on his face. Anakin had however become very adept at spotting the on-edge look in Obi-Wan’s eyes, and would often casually disappear, or at least move further away from the door so Obi-Wan had an exit. The dreams had at least stopped as he was more prone to napping now rather than long periods of sleep. Overall he felt like it was progress.

“If you need time to yourself, could you do it during the day?” Anakin asked. “It’s dangerous at night, and we won’t know if something happens to you, and…I worry.”

“I am perfectly capable of defending myself, you know,” Obi-Wan responded sending Anakin a look.

“I know, but Tuskens are wily in groups, and if I’m at least awake and know you’re out there, then I can help quicker,” Anakin tried. “Plus the twins don’t need as much watching now, you should have time during the day—”

Obi-Wan sighed conceding the argument. “Okay, Anakin, I won’t do it again.” 

It was about to be a moot point anyway.

Anakin, satisfied that Obi-Wan had agreed, finished helping with the vaporator and headed back inside, muttering about helping Padmé with the twins.

Obi-Wan slowly finished his round, checking the last of the machines, clearing sand from filters, and checking they were working at full efficiency. The second last one had a malfunctioning coolant intake coupling which Obi-Wan tinkered with until it was no longer allowing coolant to escape. 

Job done, Obi-Wan sat staring out at the desert, his back pressed against the warm metal of the vaporator. 

He knew that it was time he left, and yet he’d been putting it off for the last couple of weeks. He was reluctant to leave, but he didn’t want to be a problem anymore. Padmé and Anakin were settled, the babies were born and no-one had died. It was mission accomplished for him. 

In all honesty, he hadn’t expected to live to see it; he had been ready to become one with the Force to prevent his vision from coming true. He had been stunned to wake up on Padmé’s starship afterward. He had set on staying until the twins were born and Padmé lived, making sure the galaxy was completely safe from Vader, and then return to… whatever was left. 

Obi-Wan supposed he should try to find which Jedi were left alive after the Clones had turned on them. He wanted to find out what had really happened. He wanted to look over the Temple footage again, or rather, he didn’t _want_ to do that, but it would answer the question about Anakin’s presence there. He needed to know.

He knew Yoda was alive, and that was a place to start. 

Ahsoka was likely safe from it all, having not been considered a Jedi at the time. He had to look for her too. He had to know she was safe. 

Obi-Wan absently wondered how many others survived.

He needed to leave, reluctant or not: Obi-Wan could not keep intruding on their lives like this. They were a family now. He was getting too comfortable. He was getting too… attached. To all of them. They didn’t need him to stay.

Today was as good as any day.

He should go.

Decision made, Obi-Wan stood up and walked back towards the house. He should say goodbye to the twins first. He suspected his exit was not going to go down well with their parents. He made polite conversation, ignoring his heart’s erratic beating, and offered to put the twins down for their morning nap.

Padmé smiled and took him up on the offer, handing him both children and draping their blankets over his shoulder. Obi-Wan went downstairs and carefully placed both twins on their parents bed. 

He picked Leia up first, the young girl already beginning to drift off in his arms and struggling to keep her eyes open. “Goodbye sweet thing,” Obi-Wan said, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You be good. No being a fuss-pot and driving your father insane, okay?”

Leia gurgled at him, wrapping a tight hand around his shirt. Obi-Wan lowered Leia into her crib and placed her woollen blanket over her body. Leia only relinquished her hold on him when he picked up her toy Bantha and placed it beside her. Another one of Padmé’s pieces of work.

He then turned to Luke, picking him up while he stared up at Obi-Wan with interest. “Goodbye dear-heart. You be good too. No incessant screaming. No-one enjoys that,” he said softy. Obi-Wan kissed his forehead too and Luke giggled at him before Obi-Wan placed him in his bed. 

He stood above the twins cribs and stared down at them. Laying Luke’s purple blanket over him, Obi-Wan slowly closed off his bond to the both of them, careful not to startle them at the change. He was going to miss them both terribly. 

Obi-Wan sighed. 

He said one final goodbye and returned to his room to pack his bag. Obi-Wan decided to leave his Jedi tunics in the room; they were at the very least, truly unnecessary, and at worst, dangerous. He instead packed two spare changes of local tunics and pants. He’d stashed a few meals of non-perishables a week or so ago when he’d gone into town which were now shoved unceremoniously in the bottom of his bag with a large flask of water sat on top. He tucked his lightsaber down the side of the bag, hidden from immediate notice, but accessible in a pinch. He strapped the satchel closed. Now for the hard part.

Obi-Wan heard the door behind him open, Padmé’s voice piping up from behind him, “Hey Obi-Wan, I was wondering if— _what are you doing_?” 

He turned to face Padmé, now standing in the doorway of his room. Obi-Wan gave her a quick smile. “I’m leaving.”

She frowned at him, crossing her arms. “What do you mean?”

He picked up his bag and walked past her, going upstairs into the living room. Padmé followed him with determination, stepping in between him and the front door, blocking his exit. Obi-Wan placed his bag on the lounge table. 

Ah, he’d messed this up already.

“I’m leaving and going to find what’s happened out there. You’re all fine now. I’ve done my part. I need to...” he struggled to find the right words, “give you both space.”

“You can’t just leave! We need you here!” Padmé argued vehemently. Her hands were strangely animated and unable to settle.

Obi-Wan sighed. “You don’t—”

“Anakin!” she yelled back into the house, cutting into his statement.

“—need me here. You have a family now, you’re safe.”

“Obi-Wan,” Padmé started, stumbling over her words. “I—we—you can’t just _leave_. You’re part of this— _our family!_ ”

Obi-Wan just shook his head in response. “I have to go.”

“But you _don’t!_ ” she cried surging forward, her eyes bright. “We want you to _stay_.” Padmé wrapped both hands around his face, exclaiming, “Why are you so fucking frustrating!?” and pulled him down.

He hadn’t expected this. 

Padmé’s lips were soft and warm against his. She pressed forward gently, mouth welcoming his while her fingers traced the sides of his face, curling behind his ears and into his hair. He realised his eyes were closed as she coaxed him in further, sliding herself closer to his body, her form a line of warmth against him. Padmé mumbled something against his lips, willing them to open, breathing with him, while she tasted like tea and fruit. _Force_ , this had to stop. She had a husband. This was Anakin’s _wife_ being held warm and gentle against him _._

Why would Padmé do this?

Obi-Wan placed his hands, which had somehow moved to her waist, on her shoulders and gently pushed her away.

They both spoke at once. 

“Padmé—” 

“Obi-Wan—”

He heard a scuff on the floor behind him and half turned around. Anakin was standing on the stairs to the kitchen, eyes wide and stopped in his tracks.

Obi-Wan took an immediate step back, his entire body going cold. 

“Anakin. I—I didn’t—we wouldn’t—she—” He gave up. “I’m leaving.” 

Heart hammering in his chest and panic settling in to his bones, he grabbed his bag and walked out the door, deftly avoiding Padmé. He was beside the speeder, bag placed in the passenger seat before he heard the call behind him.

“Obi-Wan!” Anakin called from the house, jogging across the sand to where he stood, “Wait! Where are you going?!”

“I’m leaving, Anakin,” Obi-Wan replied, trying and failing to slide into the speeder before Anakin could reach him. “I need to see what’s happened to the galaxy.” 

Surely that would be an acceptable excuse?

Anakin huffed. “You can’t leave!” 

Evidently not.

“This is what you want to talk about?” Obi-Wan asked, incredulous and breathless.

“You don’t _understand_!” Anakin protested, stepping in closer.

“ _I_ don't understand!?” Obi-Wan shot back. “ _Your wife kissed me!_ ”

“What?” Anakin blinked at him. “Oh. So what?”

Obi-Wan could not think of any way to respond to that. 

Why was Anakin so calm about this? Obi-Wan expected him to be furious! Anakin had been near murderous the last time he’d caught Padmé and himself in a mildly compromising position, and this went well beyond that. 

Obi-Wan was waiting for the golden light to slip into Anakin’s eyes and have his friend turn on him.

He felt vaguely sick.

Anakin stepped closer again and Obi-Wan stepped back, hitting the edge of the speeder.

“Obi-Wan. I’m not angry. At either of you,” he said quietly. Anakin was close now, leaning over Obi-Wan, his blue eyes fixed on him.

Anakin was strangely relaxed. Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if that was helping himself remain calm or not. He frowned, staring up at Anakin. “I don’t—”

A slow, quiet smile spread across Anakin’s face. “I know.”

He stepped forward again, and rested his hands on the speeder, an arm on either side of Obi-Wan who was beginning to feel rather trapped, his heart pounding in his ears. Anakin leant in slowly, never breaking eye contact, until his nose and forehead brushed against Obi-Wan’s.

Obi-Wan sucked in a breath. “Anakin?”

“Hmm?” He could feel the rumble in his chest.

“What are you doing?” he asked, embarrassed at how breathy his own voice was. Anakin was far too close and Obi-Wan couldn't suck in enough air. He was unsure if it was still fear.

Anakin’s voice was low, his whole body sliding closer, nearly pinning Obi-Wan to the speeder. “Let me show you.”

A small sound of surprise slipped past his lips as he was kissed for the second time that day. 

Anakin had swooped in, catching Obi-Wan’s lips in his, the kiss hot and demanding. Anakin’s hands had moved from the side of the speeder to Obi-Wan’s waist, tugging him as close as he could get him. Anakin kissed differently to his wife, far rougher and needier, clutching Obi-Wan to him with feverish hands and insistent mouth. Obi-Wan responded without thinking, senses filled with the intensity of it all; his hands latched onto Anakin’s shirt, the soft fabric electric against his senses. Anakin smelt of heat and spices, his whole body a furnace of warmth, and Obi-Wan could barely breathe for it all. It was overwhelming. It felt like coming home.

Anakin pressed in as close as he could, mouth demanding he listen and licking into Obi-Wan’s own. A soft moan escaped Obi-Wan, his whole body feeing hot and sensitive… and yet, he felt strangely safe and _needed_. Kissing Anakin was everything he had ever thought it might be. Fast and intense and drawing Obi-Wan in with the gravity of a sun. Somehow, his hands had ended up in Anakin’s hair, fingers tangled in the curly strands, gripping him desperately.

“Please stay, Obi-Wan,” Anakin whispered against his lips, pulling back slightly.

And just like that, the spell was broken.

That’s what this was about. Him staying.

Obi-Wan pulled back violently, eyes wide and shocked at himself. 

This was _Anakin_. 

He shook his head frantically, trying to push the feelings and thoughts from his head, willing his body to calm and release his emotions to the Force. Obi-Wan looked up at Anakin, who was equally breathless. He felt hot all over and stared up at Anakin in an uncomfortable mixture of surprise and confusion and outrage. Whether that was at himself or Anakin, he wasn’t sure.

“Anakin, I—”

“You won’t stay. Will you.” Anakin’s voice was flat, not bothering to phrase it as a question.

It took a moment for his brain to function again, muttering back an automatic, “You know I can’t.” Right. Leaving. He should do that. Obi-Wan refused to look at Anakin as he climbed into the vehicle. “I can have someone return the speeder tonight?” After a pause he added, “I will come back.”

“You’d kriffing better,” Anakin said through gritted teeth and bright eyes. “Wait—let me—let me drive you into town?”

Obi-Wan hesitated but nodded. It would be easier than getting someone else to bring it back. “If you want.”

“Give me a minute.” Anakin dashed back toward the house, disappearing inside in a flurry of sand.

Obi-Wan very seriously considered leaving while he was gone but Anakin would never forgive him for that. He _did_ want to come back eventually. 

He took a few minutes to collect himself. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, rested his head in his hands and put aside all the feelings Anakin and Padmé had stirred up within him. He catalogued each as he experienced them: confusion, lust, hesitation, fear, love… Obi-Wan shook his head again. 

This was _not_ how he had thought his leaving would go down. Some objection, sure, but not…this. Obi-Wan did not understand it at all. Had they noticed him staring and thought that it would make him stay? Were they fighting or unhappy and he just hadn’t noticed? What—?

Anakin suddenly appeared at the door, striding back over to Obi-Wan with Artoo rumbling along behind him.

“Artoo’s coming with you,” Anakin said matter-of-factly.

Obi-Wan frowned. “I—why?” 

“He volunteered; didn’t you buddy?” Anakin grinned down at the droid and Artoo whistled his agreement. “Also, you can call us through him. I got the subspace communicator working.”

“I didn’t even know you had one,” Obi-Wan said. This was a conversation he could get behind. This felt normal. It was like the last ten minutes never happened. He was torn between relief and regret.

Anakin patted Artoo on his head. “We found it last time we went into the scavengers market. Got it cheap off some Jawas. I was just going to sell it, but now...” he shrugged, “may as well keep it to stay in touch.”

Anakin was trying so very hard to appear calm and collected, but Obi-Wan could see the tension in his eyes, and in the faint tightness in his jaw. Obi-Wan felt awful to be the one causing this. Space would do them both good. Anakin could focus on his wife and his children and not worry about him anymore.

“Okay,” Obi-Wan agreed and they climbed into the speeder. 

Anakin took the drivers seat, Obi-Wan beside him and Artoo in the back whistling happily about ‘leaving this hell-scape of sand’. Anakin evidently had another member to add to the ‘Fuck Sand’ club.

The drive into Mos Eisley was long and silent and Anakin stared straight ahead as he drove. Obi-Wan alternated between staring at the landscape, then staring at Anakin until he realised what he was doing, and then returned to staring at the desert.

Anakin’s long hair fluttered in the breeze as they drove, his lips pressed tightly together. Obi-Wan now knew how they felt against his and—he sighed and returned to look at the desert. He wished he didn’t know how Anakin felt pressed against him. How Padmé was as soft as she looked she might be— This was ridiculous. Obi-Wan ran his fingers nervously through his own hair. 

A tense couple of hours later they made it to Mos Eisley which was as busy and jam-packed with lifeforms as it usually was. He and Anakin and Artoo were just three more beings in a faceless crowd. 

Both of them exited the vehicle, Artoo thrusting up and out of the backseat. Anakin leant back on the side of the speeder and Obi-Wan came around to stand before him, ready to say his goodbyes.

“Here,” Anakin said, holding out a small pouch he’d pulled from the pocket of his pants.

“What is it?”

“Credits. Core credits,” Anakin explained. “Padmé still has a range of currency from when we first left. We thought this might help you.”

“You don’t need it?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin laughed. “It’s not worth anything here. Take it.”

Obi-Wan did so and tucked it into his bag carefully. That would make transport a little easier. He’d been planning to work for passage, but credits would help if he got stuck. Artoo was likely going to be useful as well. Or a nuisance. Never could tell which with the droid.

They stood in uncomfortable silence for a few moments as neither knew what to say. Obi-Wan had hoped to be able to slip away without all of this added drama. The Force evidently had other plans.

“Come home soon,” Anakin said finally into the silence. “Do whatever it is you feel you need to, and then come back. Please.”

“I will try.”

“ _There is no try_ ,” Anakin parroted at him, a faint mockery of the old, green Jedi Master in his voice.

Obi-Wan smiled despite himself. “Yes, Master Skywalker.”

Anakin faintly returned the smile. “I—just—stay safe, Obi-Wan. I don’t know where you’re going, but if you see Sidious. Please. Just run,” Anakin begged quietly. “I saw what he did to Masters Fisto, Kolar, and Tiin… Windu…” he trailed off, before focusing back on Obi-Wan. “I don’t know what I’d do if you d—if you never came back. I need you to come back, Obi-Wan.”

“You’d be fine,” Obi-Wan assured him.

Anakin’s voice was barely audible, staring at Obi-Wan with luminous blue eyes, “I can’t live without you.”

“Yes, you can.” Obi-Wan thought about Mustafar. He thought about every argument they’d ever gotten into. He thought, awfully, about the Rako Hardeen incident. Anakin had been fucking angry and upset, but he had lived through it.

Anakin shook his head, clearly identifying where his thoughts had gone. “Don’t think about the past, Obi-Wan. I’m talking to this Obi-Wan, here and now, who _I know_ loves me and has been raising my children with me. _I need you_.”

Anakin leant in slowly this time, giving Obi-Wan a chance to pull back. 

Obi-Wan felt frozen in place, passively accepting the tender kiss, nothing like the consuming fire of earlier. This was softer. This was asking for nothing else but the kiss. It filled him with a lightness he hadn’t felt in years. 

He wanted this so badly. 

He shouldn’t.

Anakin had Padmé and their children; they were happy. 

“Please stop,” Obi-Wan whispered and finally had the sense of self to turn his face away from Anakin.

Anakin did so, but frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Everything. Everything about this situation was wrong. Anakin should not be kissing him, no matter how much Obi-Wan wanted it. He was too attached. They both were. After all these years it was still where he failed. Attachment. It was just further proof he should leave.

“I… don’t want to talk about this,” Obi-Wan said finally.

Anakin sighed, “ _Obi-Wan_ —"

“—Not right now, Anakin,” Obi-Wan bit back. He didn’t think he could handle much more of this. He felt so lost. He needed to mediate properly and push these feelings aside. He could get past this. He just needed time away. He’d gotten past this with Satine. He could do so again. He _could_.

He felt Anakin’s stare burn against his skin for a long moment. Felt the tentative brush against his shields which he had tugged tightly closed hours before. 

“Fine,” Anakin growled, “but we _are_ talking about it in the future. You’re going to stay safe, you’re going to come home, and we’re going to talk about it.” He said it like a mantra before visibly deflating, voice going quiet. “Just come back.”

He nodded. He would come back. Eventually.

Obi-Wan lifted his hand to touch the side of Anakin’s face, speaking softly, “I’m proud of you, Anakin. You’ve grown so much these past few months and you are an excellent father.” 

“Thank you,” Anakin said, placing his hand over Obi-Wan’s. “Stay safe and may the Force be with you, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “And with you, Anakin. Come on, Artoo.”

He dropped his hand, turned, and walked away from Anakin, desperately trying to ignore the pain in his chest that he'd inflicted on himself.

Artoo whistled something along the lines of ‘You’re both idiots’ and then trundled along silently beside him. 

Obi-Wan chose to ignore him and they headed to the cantina to find a ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *me chanting while banging pots at the characters* USE YOUR WORDS! STOP BEING DUMB! Y'ALL THE WORST!
> 
> Now, before I get murdered, I would like to say this was necessary for overall plot reasons. I said in the story description that 'I'm going to fix everything Lucas broke if it kills me' and I super-duper mean that. We're only at chapter 12 and I have a total of 30 planned (whoops!?!?) so yeah, got plenty of time ahead of us.


	13. Absence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh MAN this chapter gave me such a hard time (but still ended up being like 8k long???). The writers block was so real this week and I'm still not happy with it, but continuing to stew over it isn't going to help. This is probably one of those chapters that will get a serious re-write when I'm done.
> 
> I initially wasn't sure I'd keep the sex scene I wrote for this chapter in, however this week has been such a shit-show I decided you could all use a sexy treat. For those who are not interested in a sexy treat, there's still a lot of chapter for you to enjoy :)
> 
> Also! Good news! I have a new job and it is literally impossible for it to follow me home so should be no issues with maintaining updates, however if next chapter is anything like this one, it might be late again. 
> 
> Otherwise, as usual, it is un-beta'd so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism (there's probably a bunch of typos or bits that don't make sense given this week's writing track record lol, so please do point them out). Enjoy!

Anakin watched Obi-Wan and Artoo walk away from him, disappearing into the throng of people with raised dust filling the air. He stood, dazed and confused in the heat, his mouth still tingling faintly from the kiss he had stolen a few minutes before. Anakin reached up and rested and absent hand on his lips. 

Anakin wasn’t quite sure where he went wrong today, but he could feel that he did.

Hm.

“Seripas!” a voice called from across the street.

Anakin’s head turned and found Owen jogging towards him.

“Owen!” Anakin greeted once Owen reached him. “How are you?”

“I’m good—so I was right about the Seripas thing?” Owen said. “I had a friend congratulate me on having a great mechanic for a brother named Seripas Lars—who I have obviously never heard of—but was described as tall, has a scar on his face, and is crazy good at fixing things. I thought it was probably you.”

Anakin blinked at the sudden conversation. This was such a gear change from the past few hours and he was really feeling the emotional whiplash. 

“Yeah,” he said as his mind caught up, “been doing repair work on top of moisture farming. Seems people need it out here.”

Owen smiled. “Understatement. Not many people are trained to repair things, and if they are they’re not trained very well. Most of the time I think they just don’t want the slaves getting uppity.”

Anakin stiffened. “Yeah.” He _hated_ the ongoing slavery on Tatooine. It was one of those things he tried not to notice too hard. Anakin suspected if he focused on it someone might end up dead and that was not who he was trying to be right now. 

Owen seemingly noticing the change, swapped tack. “So, how is Padmé? I assume the birth went fine?”

“Oh!” Anakin had completely forgotten. He _really_ should have told his family… Probably should have invited them to visit… Was that what normally happened? “Yes. We have twins; Luke and Leia. I completely forgot to send word. You should visit?” He hadn’t meant to phrase that as a question.

Owen laughed. “It’s all good, we figured you’d all be caught up in it all; we would love to visit, though it can only probably be one of us. I don’t know if it’s the same out in the Wastes, but the Tuskans around here are getting bold.” Owen rubbed a hand at the side of his face. “Fuckers damaged a couple of our vaporators pretty bad. The other farmers are worried about a proper incursion.”

Anakin nodded sympathetically. “They do like to do that every few years. Do you need help with the vaporators?”

“Yeah, if you could spare this afternoon we could use some help,” Owen said. “I’ve already managed to fix one, but I’m not sure I can with the other; I was just going to write it off.”

This was a good distraction.

“Now or in a bit?” Anakin asked.

“I have one last thing to go get,” Owen said, “then I was going to head home. Want to meet me there?”

“Sure.”

Owen jogged off and Anakin pulled out his comm and signalled Padmé. After a moment, her voice came through, crackly and weak, “Hello?”

“He’s gone,” Anakin said flatly.

“Oh no,” Padmé replied. “Are you okay?”

Anakin sighed. “I’m not sure. I’m going to go visit Owen for a bit; I ran into him in town. They have a very broken vaporator that he wants me to have a look at. Will you be okay without me for a bit longer?”

“Yeah,” Padmé’s voice crackled. “I’ll be fine. The twins are up from their nap and are having a lovely time rolling around on the floor with Mummy right now.”

“Okay. I should be home for dinner,” Anakin said. “Love you.”

“Love you too. Look after yourself and come home if it becomes too much.” 

“Okay.” He cut the comm unit off.

Anakin let out a slow breath and tucked the unit away. Today didn’t quite feel real. He couldn’t believe Obi-Wan had just _gone_. He shook his head. Worry later. Owen now. 

Anakin hopped back into the speeder and drove across the sands to Owen and Beru’s homestead. 

Beru met him at the door with open arms. “Oh Anakin! Owen just called to say you’d be coming. He’s a little caught up in a deal right now, so come join me for lunch.”

Anakin did so, sensing she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She placed a bowl of food in front of him, and asked after Padmé and the twins. Anakin told her all about it, and she expressed her desire to come visit them.  Anakin continued to make polite conversation until Owen returned from town, and then helped him carry in a small selection of boxes he’d brought.

“Non-perishables and replacement parts,” Owen explained. “We are going to be prepared for anything.”

Owen then rummaged around in the storage room before pulling out a bag and dragging Anakin outside. Owen took him out to the vaporator which was heavily dented in places and obviously completely offline, the humidity sensor on the top bent at a funny angle.

“Hm,” Anakin said, staring up at it with his hands on his hips. “They really did a number on this one didn’t they.”

“Yes they did,” Owen agreed. “Beru and I are not leaving the house unattended, even for a moment, until they settle.”

“Good idea.” 

Owen placed the bag he had found on the ground beside the vaporator and indicated at it. “There should be enough tools in there to help you. If not, come back to the house and I’ll find you some more.”

Anakin nodded, kneeling down to rifle through the bag. It looked fine to him, filled with spare parts and wiring, plus a mixed variety of delicate tools and various sized hammers. That should work.

“Do you think it’s even repairable?” Owen asked.

Anakin nodded and pulled out a few tools, placing them on the ground beside him. “It should be. Depends how damaged the insides are.”

“Oh good. I don’t want to have to replace a whole machine if I don’t have to.” Owen rubbed his face. “I saw Obi-Wan in town today. You picking him up on our way home?”

Anakin paused. “No. He’s… going away for a bit.”

“Everything okay?”

Anakin just nodded. 

After an uncomfortable moment Owen continued. “Okay. Well. Shall I leave you to it?”

He nodded again and listened to Owen’s retreating footsteps. 

Anakin exhaled loudly when he could no longer hear him and punched the ground beside him.

He’d been trying to ignore the Obi-Wan thing. He’d been trying to not work himself up over it. Anakin could feel how easily it could get out of hand. He was also very carefully keeping his shielding up; he knew Obi-Wan was blocking him out and it would break his promise if he let them drop. But it was _so_ tempting just to try. Anakin refused to focus on it and turned his attention to the vaporator. He needed to find out what’s wrong first, then fix it. He could do that. 

He lost himself in the familiarity of repair work for a long while, and was calmer when his mind finally returned to Obi-Wan. Anakin felt lost and distinctly as though he’d missed something somewhere along the way. He understood that Obi-Wan wanted to see what was going on in the galaxy...but then it had all gone a bit pear-shaped somewhere.

Anakin had been in the bathroom, shaving off residual scruff from his stubble and tying the top of his hair back, when he had heard talking and a sudden yell of his name. He took a moment to finish tying his hair back before he responded to the call.  He had returned to the kitchen and began down the steps, expecting Padmé needing help with the twins, to see Padmé pressed up against Obi-Wan, kissing him with determination. 

That was not at all what he had been expecting. 

Anakin had stopped dead in his tracks, his brain having to take a few moments to restart itself. That was definitely on the list of best things he had ever seen in his life—He’d been initially hesitant when Padmé had brought up the possibility of their relationship including the three of them, Anakin mainly concerned he would be absurdly jealous. The scene before him dispelled all possible doubts. Anakin just found it beautiful.

Padmé must have spoken to Obi-Wan about the three of them, though Anakin hadn’t realised they were going to talk to Obi-Wan about it so soon though… he figured that he must have misunderstood when he and Padmé had been discussing it the night before. Maybe Padmé had seen an opportunity that she couldn’t ignore? Either way, Anakin trusted her judgement.

When they’d broken apart, Obi-Wan had shot Anakin a strange look and then stammered something out, Anakin only catching the frantic final, “I’m leaving.”

Anakin had then just stood there, brain short circuiting as Obi-Wan _left._

Padmé had rounded on him, cheeks tinged pink, saying, “Obi-Wan is going to leave. You go talk to him. I’ve fucked it up.”

That had sent him into action. Anakin had nodded at her and followed Obi-Wan out, catching him at the speeder. Clearly Obi-Wan hadn’t reacted well. He mustn’t have realised that Anakin wanted him too. Maybe he just needed convincing. Padmé had obviously thought that kissing was the way forward. Obi-Wan had been a bit confused for the first part of their talk by the speeder, so Anakin decided to follow Padmé’s lead and show Obi-Wan how he felt.

Kissing him had been incredible—more-so that Obi-Wan had responded so strongly to him. He’d kissed back. He’d wrapped his fingers in Anakin’s hair and _kissed back_. He had folded willingly into Anakin’s grasp, pressing himself forward as much as Anakin had pulled him in. Anakin had never imagined he could ever actually have this; that Obi-Wan would ever _want him_ like that. Obi-Wan had been passionate and was a much better kisser than he had thought he would be. Anakin had lost himself in it, his whole body on fire and near vibrating with excitement. 

Then Anakin had opened his big mouth and asked him to stay. 

He had felt the change instantly; Obi-Wan freezing and pulling away, eyes wide and staring at Anakin with an expression he’d never seen before on his friend.

Anakin had known in that instant that he too had made a mistake. 

He just wasn’t quite sure _where_ it happened…

At the very least he’d secured a promise from Obi-Wan that he would come back and he would be careful. Maybe giving Obi-Wan some space would help in the long run; give him some time to think about their proposal. Obi-Wan had always felt such a duty to the Jedi, and Anakin partly understood it. He’d never thought of the Jedi as his family, but he thought that Obi-Wan did. Even if he would never say it. Either way, Obi-Wan could get it out of his system, think about what he wanted, and come home.

Anakin exhaled in a sharp burst, frustration at the whole day pressing forward in his mind; it felt like a weight pressing on his chest, refusing to let him up. Anakin clung to the knowledge he still had Padmé and Luke and Leia and that Obi-Wan would come home. He blinked and refocused his mind on the vaporator before him. He could discuss it with Padmé later; she was always the voice of reason.

He’d managed to somehow fix most of the vaporator while his brain was elsewhere, and now only the humidity sensor was non-functional. Anakin concentrated his attention on the bent sensor, using the small tools to bend it back into shape and then rewire and fix the mechanisms part by part. Beeing able to lose himself in the order and organisation of the machine made him feel better. It was familiar and safe. He understood machines. Machines wouldn’t make out with him and then leave.

By the time Anakin was finished, the vaporator worked near as good as it used to. It did look a bit battered, though nothing like the near-destroyed and non-functional state it had been in when he had started. He stood back, hands resting on his hips, and watched the vaporator work for ten minutes. It was fine and collected moisture as it should. Satisfied, Anakin returned to the homestead. He found Owen talking with Beru in the central open complex.

“Oh, Anakin,” Beru said, smiling welcomingly at him. “How did you go with it?”

“All fixed up. It works again, even if it still looks a bit dented.”

“You’re a lifesaver. What do we owe you?” Owen asked.

Anakin blinked, frowning. “Nothing. I’m happy to help you both out.”

“Are you sure? We’re happy to recompense you for your work,” Owen said.

“Of course I’m sure,” Anakin insisted. “It’s the least I can do for all the kindness you showed us.”

“Well. Okay,” Beru replied. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

Anakin shook his head. “No, I promised Padmé I would be home for dinner, though I think I will visit Mom before I leave.”

Beru nodded. “Of course. Thank you for your help, Anakin, and have a safe trip home.”

Owen placed a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “We’ll try and come visit soon. Keep an eye out for Tuskens. If they’re mobilising here, they’re probably doing the same near you too.”

Anakin felt strangely warm. It was nice to have extended family who cared about him. He’d never felt that with the Jedi beyond Obi-Wan and Snips.

“Thank you. Will do.”

Anakin said his final farewells and then walked back out onto the flats and found his mother's grave. He pressed a kiss to his fingers before tenderly placing them against the cool stone. He knelt on the ground in front of it and spoke softly to the silence of the desert. 

He told her of his wife, his children, and his now absent friend. He rambled about all the good things, the bad things, and the ridiculous exhaustion that came with raising twins. He murmured his everlasting respect for her, raising him alone and being able to let him go when Qui-Gon had taken him. It must have been so incredibly difficult for her. Anakin didn’t think he could ever let either of his children go.

“I love you, Mom,” Anakin said finally. “I wish you could have met Luke and Leia.”

After a long moment of silence, Anakin returned to his speeder and drove home, his soul feeling more settled. He could manage without Obi-Wan. It would suck, and they would miss him, but he had Padmé and the twins and Obi-Wan _would come back_.

* * *

“Hey, love,” Padmé greeted as he came in through the door. She was sitting on the floor of the lounge room, Leia fiddling with her knitted bantha and laying on her back, while Luke sat on his mother’s lap, inquisitive eyes staring at Anakin. “How did the repairs go?”

Anakin moved to sit on the floor beside her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Hey. It was all fine and has all been fixed. How have the tiny terrors been?”

Padmé held Luke up before her. “You’ve been pretty good, haven’t you bub?” Luke just mumbled something back at her. She smiled at her son and then returned her focus back to Anakin, “They’ve both been fine. They didn't get quite as long a nap earlier as I would have liked, so they might be fussy later.” Padmé then passed Luke to Anakin and picked Leia up off the floor, Leia dragging her bantha with her. “Couch? I’m losing feeling in my legs.”

Anakin agreed and they both moved from the floor to the alcove. 

Anakin sat down and placed Luke so that he was laying back on his thighs, Anakin’s legs angled so Luke’s head was rested up and staring happily at his parents. Padmé sat to his left and lay back into the pillows, resting Leia against her chest.

“What a day,” Padmé murmured, staring down at her daughter and petting her dark tufts of hair. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

Anakin sighed and stared down at Luke. He knew exactly how she felt; there was an absence in the room. There was an absence in his mind where Obi-Wan’s shields were, raised strongly and reinforced by distance. 

“So what did you say to him?” Padmé asked after a moment of quiet.

Anakin rubbed a hand over Luke’s tummy, enjoying his little giggle, “I asked him where he was going, and he said he needed to go see the galaxy. He thought I was going to be angry with him for kissing you, and I told him I wasn’t. Then I kissed him.”

Padmé paused, exhaling a soft, “What?”

“That’s what happened,” Anakin explained. “I figured he hadn’t reacted well to you telling him about us and what we wanted and your kiss, so I thought—”

“Oh Gods…” Padmé closed her eyes as if in pain, folding forwards, to press her head against Leia’s. “Gods I fucked this up.”

Anakin turned his focus away from Luke. “What is it?” 

“I’m an idiot and I completely fucked up,” Padmé groaned. “I _hadn’t_ talked to Obi-Wan about us. I’d just tried to stop him from leaving—that’s all he was trying to do—and he wasn’t listening and I _panicked_ and reacted on instinct—which is apparently kissing, because it works fucking _great_ on you—and then _you’ve_ assumed that it was about our relationship and _Obi-Wan_ thinks it’s about him leaving and—oh, he must be confused as _fuck_ as to what _we_ were doing…” Padmé groaned again in vehement frustration. “Fucking fuck, Ani."

“Oh,” was all Anakin could think of saying. He felt cold.

That…that made a lot more sense. No wonder he’d felt so off balance—they’d been having completely different conversations with each other. That would explain why Obi-Wan had been so upset about Padmé kissing him, and the second kiss that Anakin had stolen. What it _didn’t_ explain was why he was so into the first one. Anakin could almost still feel Obi-Wan’s hands clasped tightly in his hair, gripping Anakin firmly to him. That was not the kiss of a person who wasn’t enjoying it. Anakin felt the tiniest blossom of warm hope unfurl in his chest, banishing some of the cold uncertainty. 

“Ugh, we need to talk to him,” Padmé said, still clearly frustrated. “No wonder he left—I thought you’d be the better choice because your relationship is better but I didn’t _think_ you didn’t have the _context!!_ Gods, I’m an idiot.”

Anakin leant over, hands still occupied with Luke, and rested his head against hers. “You’re not an idiot; you made a mistake,” Anakin said.

“A _stupid_ mistake,” Padmé groused.

Anakin kissed the side of her face. “We can probably fix it. Relax.”

Padmé side-eyed Anakin. “When did you get so sensible?”

“Well obviously _someone’s_ gotta be, if it’s not going to be you.” Anakin grinned at her.

“You _fuck_ ,” Padmé laughed and slapped his arm with her spare hand, the other still cradling Leia to her chest. She then turned her head and pressed her lips to his briefly. “Thank you. You’re right; we can fix this. We can give him the time to sort himself and do his thing out in the galaxy,” Padmé thought aloud. “He’ll come around eventually and then we can talk to him.”

Anakin just hummed in agreement though he was less convinced. He enjoyed her optimism, but he also knew how stupidly stubborn Obi-Wan could be. Anakin suspected that now that they’d fucked their first chance, the second would be tricker to get. That kiss however, bolstered his belief that perhaps Anakin’s feelings weren’t so one-sided as he had thought they were.

Anakin returned is focus to Luke, cooing at him. “Mommy will not make assumptions and Daddy won’t make assumptions and then go from zero to full-on kiss mode again. Does that sound good, Luke?”

Luke mumbled something in response, deciding to suck on his hand and slide it up and down Anakin’s arm.

“That’s a fair point, Luke, you _do_ deserve full-on kiss mode,” Anakin agreed. He bent down and pressed numerous quick kisses to Luke’s soft face, Luke shrieking happily the whole time. 

They passed the rest of the evening in thoughtful quiet, Padmé clearly still stewing over her mistake. She didn’t make them very often and Anakin knew how much it frustrated her when she did. She always worked so hard to get everything right the first time. After dinner and tucking the twins into bed, Anakin lay awake staring up at the dark ceiling, his mind sliding over the now quiet place in his mind where Obi-Wan used to be. 

* * *

A month passed without word from Obi-Wan.

They managed fine without him but they could all feel the loss. Anakin had caught himself calling out to him at moments, and he’d seen Padmé move to say something to where Obi-Wan would normally be, only to pause mid-action, catching herself, and shake it off. 

Anakin had trouble sleeping for the first couple of weeks, unused to not being able to feel the low hum of their bond between them. It was still there, thin and stretched, but it remained closed to him and it was like a itch he couldn’t scratch, always just beyond his reach.

The twins continued to grow, Leia picking up laughing a week after her brother, with Luke only just mastering rolling onto his stomach. They were both becoming increasingly interested in everything, often just watching their parents and each other. Both now responded to their names and were much more chatty; Leia would often just babble for long periods of time, Luke occasionally muttering something back at her.

Anakin had eventually taken to having one of the twins join him on his vaporator rounds. He would strap one to his chest and talk them through what he was doing. Padmé had been reluctant at the begining to let them outside, but Anakin had promised to be careful, and reminded her that they had to leave the house sometime. Padmé had relented eventually, but she was clearly not pleased about it.

“What do you think, Leia?” Anakin asked to the pair of brown eyes now staring up at him, “Should we use this screwdriver?” He held it up to her vision. Leia responded with something incomprehensible and reached up to grab at the metal object. “You’re right, this one’s not right. Let’s use the other one.” He would then narrate what he did to her, Leia’s eyes watching her father’s actions with the full seriousness of a five month old child. 

Owen and Beru had also come to visit three weeks into Obi-Wan’s absence. They had done so separately over two days, both of them still feeling it wasn't safe to leave the homestead unattended. Owen had enjoyed the twins, but had spent most of his time talking to Anakin and Padmé. Luke had taken to Beru like a Mon Calamari to water, happily being held by her and making all sorts of happy babbling sounds at her. Leia had preferred to stay in her father’s arms.

It all felt very domestic. 

* * *

Leia had been crying for nearly an hour by the time Padmé came looking for him.

“She won’t stop,” Padmé said, passing her into Anakin’s hands, “you give it a go. I’m going to lose my mind.”

Anakin took his screaming daughter and tentatively reached along their bond to see what was wrong. 

Oh dear, that wasn’t easily fixed. 

Anakin sighed. “She misses Obi-Wan.” He could feel her mind screaming out for him.

“Well that’s just _great,”_ Padmé huffed, sitting back onto the couch and dropping her head into her hands. “She can join the fucking club.”

“I know,” Anakin agreed softly.

He carefully felt along the thin bond he had with his daughter and wrapped her up in comfort and love and security. He soothed away her worries, gently easing her desire for Obi-Wan. After a few minutes she was still visibly unhappy, but no longer crying, but it was as much as he could do. Neither of them could fake being what she wanted. Neither of them would feel or smell quite right.

Anakin in that moment had never been more frustrated at Obi-Wan. Anakin and Padmé missing him was bad, but they were adults and they could manage. Leia didn’t understand. All she knew is that she wanted Obi-Wan and he wasn’t there.

“I miss him too darling,” Anakin muttered to Leia, gently stroking his fingers over her head, lulling her into slumber.

After Leia finally settled, he took her downstairs and put her to bed. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and tucked her into her blanket. Luke was already sound asleep, Anakin only sending a soothing thrum of love along their bond. 

When he returned upstairs Padmé muttered, “I’m going to have a shower,” and vanished into the bathroom.

Anakin sat on the couch for a moment, thinking. They had heard nothing from Obi-Wan for the past month and it was really starting to stress him out. 

Anakin mulled over the problem for a few moments before deciding to try and contact him again.

Anakin moved to where he had placed the subspace communication relay to the side of the stairs to the kitchen, propped up on the small ledge. Anakin pulled a chair along behind him to sit on and then switched it on, ran a check that it was working, and then entered in Artoo’s connection code.

_Leia misses you_ , Anakin sent though the machine. 

He waited in silence, staring unblinkingly at the screen. Obi-Wan might be asleep. He might be busy. He might be—

The machine pinged as he received a message back.  _Can I call you?_

Anakin immediately dialled Artoo’s connection.

Obi-Wan suddenly appeared, blue and wavy and faintly transparent, only appearing from the chest up. Anakin smiled brightly at him, “Hey Ob—Hondo?”

Obi-Wan’s eyes crinkled happily. “All clear, no need to use Hondo, but for future reference, could you use Ben?”

“Of course. Why?”

Obi-Wan smiled at him. “I’ve negotiated a ride with some Weequay pirates and I decided it wasn’t worth chancing; so Ben it is.”

There was a beat of silence.

“How are you, Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked softly.

He hesitated for a moment. He should be honest. “Fine. I miss you. We all do. Do you know when you’ll be back?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I don’t know how long the journey is going to take. This small leg has taken much longer than I thought. I suspect I’m going to have to take a rather circuitous route to get to Coruscant.”

“What—?” Anakin sat forward. “Why would you go to Coruscant!?”

Obi-Wan blinked at his obvious discomfort. “It's a place to start. Theres a couple of things I want to look into at the Temple.”

“It’s a place to get _captured_ and turned over to Palpatine,” Anakin said, his heart stuck in his throat.

“I’m not going to get captured,” Obi-Wan assured him. “I know how to get in and out of the Temple without being seen.”

Anakin smiled. “Been sneaking out a lot?”

“Oh yes,” Obi-Wan said sarcastically, “sneaking out all the time to visit my many secret lovers I somehow managed to hide for the last fifteen years.”

“Ha ha,” Anakin responded with equal acerbity, before becoming more serious. “Just be careful.”

“I always am.”

Anakin laughed. “That’s bantha-shit and you know it.”

Obi-Wan smiled at him, his eyes sparkling. There were traces of exhaustion lingering about his face as well. Anakin hoped he was sleeping okay.

“You look tired,” Anakin said.

Obi-Wan looked away. “Yeah. Artoo and I have been working pretty hard.”

There was an agreeing whistle from the droid.Well at least Obi-Wan was being honest. Anakin doubted Artoo would let him get away with being stupid.

“What are you doing?” Anakin asked.

“Basic repairs and cleaning for me, and Artoo has been working a lot of the ships systems,” Obi-Wan said. “Nothing particularly difficult, just continuous and can be needed at any hour. How are the twins?”

“They’re okay,” Anakin replied. “Leia was very upset today when neither of us were you. She’s been very fussy for the last week. Luke won’t stop giggling. Now that he’s worked out how to do it he won’t stop. Leia has worked it out as well and we think she’s close to being able to sit up on her own.”

“Oh, that’s great.” Obi-Wan smiled. “I would love to see them via link at some point.”

“Maybe next time. We just put them down for the night.”

Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment. “Where is Padmé? Is she well?”

Anakin nodded. “She’s fine, just in the shower now. Leia crying for an hour really did her in.”

“That’s fair.”

Anakin wished he could touch him; reach through and feel him, physically and mentally. 

Anakin took a deep breath; now was as good a moment as any. “Look, um, about the day you left, I wanted to apologise about the kissing thing; I think there was a misunderstanding—”

A guarded expression slid over Obi-Wan’s face, his whole body losing its calm, relaxed posture. “I said I didn’t want to talk about this—”

“No, but Obi-Wan, I love you.” Oh yeah, _good one_ Anakin, real _fucking_ cool. Evidently being married and a father had not improved his ability to flirt. At all. 

Obi-Wan frowned. “I know you do. What—”

“No, I _love_ you,” Anakin tried to explain. “Like I love Padmé.”

Obi-Wan let out a quiet, “Oh, Anakin, I—” before his focus snapped up to something Anakin couldn’t see. “I have to go.”

The feed cut.

_“Ugh!”_ Anakin exclaimed, dropping his head to the black metal of the communication relay in frustration.

The unit beeped as a binary message came through from Artoo.

_01010011 01101101 01101111 01101111 01110100 01101000 00101110 00100000_

Anakin stared at it as his brain processed it. Oh. Well. That was rude. Anakin couldn’t help but smile though; that droid was such a shit. 

Anakin sighed. He felt awful. He suspected he literally just did nothing to help clear up the kissing issue. His mind ran back over their conversation… yeah, he hadn’t helped.

He probably shouldn’t have done it. He’d just—he needed Obi-Wan to know! Obi-Wan needed to know it wasn’t out of some kind of desperation, that it was what Anakin wanted. 

He ran back over their conversation again, relishing at the contact, before an insidious thought wormed its way into his head… Had Obi-Wan ever had any lovers? The comment he’d made had clearly been a joke, and most likely a jab at Anakin, but it made him pause.

Anakin had been aware of other Jedi having casual sexual relationships with one another. It wasn’t encouraged, but so long at it wasn’t attachment, then it wasn’t discouraged either. If Obi-Wan had ever done such a thing however… he just wasn’t sure. As far as Anakin knew, Obi-Wan had not had anyone like that in his life. He'd certainly kissed like he knew what he was doing. Could he have hidden it? Would he have? With who?

“What are you up to?” Padmé asked, coming to lie back beside him and draping her legs over his lap. She was back wearing a blouse and skirt with her hair wrapped in a towel.

“Thinking,” Anakin replied, frowning. He was way too fixated on this and he knew it, but the idea had hooked itself in his head and was proving difficult to shake.

“What about?”

Anakin sighed. “Just something Obi-Wan said.”

“Oh, you managed to get a hold of him?” Padmé perked up. “How is he?”

Anakin relayed their conversation to her, with Padmé scrunching her nose up at the end.

“Yeah, you really didn’t clarify anything for him, but at least he’s doing okay,” she said after a moment. “What are you worrying over then? 

Anakin took a deep breath. He knew what her response was going to be. It was the same thought the logical side of his brain was currently having, but they’d agreed that Anakin was to share his worries, so he pressed on. “It…it was the secret lovers comment. I just—I have no idea if he ever did and I _feel_ like it’s something I would have at least been aware of, but then again I didn’t know about Satine until I met her and it kind of came out—”

“ _Ani,_ _really_?” Padmé returned, with a displeased look on her face. That was definitely her I’m-resisting-rolling-my-eyes-at-you face. “You’re a complete hypocrite if you’re grumpy about him _maybe_ hiding a lover from you.”

“I _know_ I’m being stupid, but it’s still annoying me,” Anakin said resting his head on the wall behind the couch. “I don't like not knowing.”

Padmé sighed. “Come here.” She held her arms up to him, beckoning him closer, her towel slipping slightly from her head. 

Anakin shifted his legs out from beneath Padmé and slid so he lay beside her with his head on her chest. He tucked his legs over hers, bent so he could fit the length of the couch, then Padmé wrapped one arm around him and used the other to stroke through his hair. 

“Why don’t you try meditating. You haven’t since Obi-Wan left and it seemed to help,” Padmé suggested while still petting him. It felt amazing, the light strokes through his hair was incredibly soothing; Anakin wanted to shove himself as close to her as he physically could. "Have a think about what you're really hung up on here."

“I’ve never been good at it without him.”

“Try,” Padmé suggested. “Use me or the babies to ground yourself. The worst thing that will happen is it’s a nice relaxing cuddle instead.”

Anakin exhaled against her skin. “I see you’re back to being the sensible one.”

“Well obviously _someone’s_ gotta be, if it’s not going to be you,” Padmé said, deadpan. Ah, he’d known that one was going to come back and bite him.

“Love you too,” Anakin murmured, but decided to follow her advice.

Padmé kept threading her fingers through his hair sending tingles through his scalp. He closed his eyes, reaching out through their physical connection to find to Padmé’s faint Force presence. He wrapped himself around her and settled his mind. 

He looked back over his emotions; jealousy and frustration were easily the most prominent. He knew he was frustrated at himself for being jealous, so that at least was was easy to recognise. It was the jealousy that was more tangled up in itself. What was he upset about? Obi-Wan having possibly kept a secret from him for so long; Obi-Wan not trusting Anakin to share it; Anakin fiercely envious of whoever (if anyone) it was…is? Ah. He was worried Obi-Wan had someone already. Didn’t need Anakin. Wouldn’t come back. Anakin turned that though over. Obi-Wan would come back. He’d promised that he would and Anakin trusted him. Anakin could wait until he came back and worry about it then. There was nothing he could do right now. He just had to trust.

The feeling slowly unwound itself from his chest. He felt lighter. Anakin settled in the calm space now in his mind and gently unwound all of his worries. When he was truly settled again, he resurfaced slowly, focusing back in on the fingers still in his hair and the featherlight kisses Padmé was pressing to the top of his head. 

“Better?” Padmé asked softly when he stirred in her arms.

“Yeah.”

“Good,” she said, “nice to know that works. Now, I’ve petted your hair for a good hour now and I’d love you to play with my hair for a bit. I was thinking some plaits?”

Anakin angled his head to smile up at her. “Okay.”

Padmé slid from the couch and pulled the towel from her hair. It was still faintly damp when he touched it, but was not so wet that he couldn’t work with it. 

Anakin began just carding his fingers through her hair, removing any small tangles, and enjoying the silky texture. It was already begining to curl beneath his fingertips. Padmé practically purred where she sat on the floor, alternating between humming a song she would occasionally sing to the twins, and small sounds of pleasure. She adored it when he did this. He’d gotten very good at doing her hair during the first few months of their marriage. He’d helped her a few times when he’d been assigned as her bodyguard, but after Padmé became his wife, he often enjoyed the time they would get together in the morning when he did her hair. It was a convenient excuse to stay longer if nothing else. 

Anakin decided a plaited wreath about her head would be nice. He was limited to the kinds of things he could do with her hair now that most of it was gone. Anakin worked slowly, starting at the base of her head and working around clockwise, carefully threading each strand into the design.

When he was done, Padmé’s pale neck sloped upward into her hair, now pulled up and intricately plaited into a crown about her head. 

Anakin leant forward and pressed a kiss to the centre of her nape. “All done,” he said, pulling back.

Padmé twisted where she sat on the floor, smiling up at him brightly.  “How do I look?” Padmé asked.

“Like an angel," Anakin said honestly.

She laughed. “You’re a sap.” 

Anakin leant forward and kissed her cheek. “I’m your sap, though.”

“Mhmm.” Padmé turned his head and kissed him back, slow and tender, before pulling away. “Come on, let’s make dinner.”

Padmé stood up and sauntered over to the kitchen, lightly dancing up the stairs, hips swaying as she went. Anakin suspected she was playing with him tonight. He wondered what game she was up to.

They set about cooking, Padmé pointing Anakin to get out a selection of vegetables and some meat from the fridge. Padmé grabbed out a chopping board and a knife and set to cutting it all into chunks. There was a period of silence as she worked, Anakin leaning against the bench, just watching after being told to wait.

“So, did you like kissing Obi-Wan then?” Padmé asked as she chopped the final vegetable in front of her. She turned her head to smirk wickedly at him, her voice low and seductive.

Ah and there it was. Here was what she'd been playing at.

“I loved it.” He grinned at her, leaning in closer, resting his forehead against hers, his voice only just above a whisper. “I could tell he loved it too, even if he refused to admit it. Did you enjoy your kiss?”

“I did,” she grinned mischievously at him, pulling back and feigning indifference to him. “Plus, he let me lead, unlike certain people I know, Ani.”

Anakin rolled his eyes at her. “You like it.”

“Hmmm. I want you to kiss me like you kissed him,” she said slowly, unblinkingly, with an odd quirk to her mouth. “Show me how you felt.”

Anakin felt a hot thrill, like molten gold, slide down his spine and settle in his groin. This was a game he could play. 

He moved around her, shoving the knife and chopping board aside, and leaning Padmé against the kitchen bench, penning her in with his arms. “I caught him against the speeder,” he whispered into her ear, stepping closer, “so he couldn’t run. He was looking nervous.”

“You’re lucky he didn't punch you,” Padmé said seriously, offset by the way she was trailing a finger along his jaw.

“Yeah,” Anakin agreed. “I think he was too shocked, and I was panicking a bit.”

“So you talked—?”

He cut her off with a kiss, going in just as hard as he had with Obi-Wan, arms moving to grip her waist and pull her in. He kissed her hard and fast and demanding, gaining entrance to her mouth with ease. Padmé moaned against him, her hands tangling in his hair. Anakin pressed his whole body against her and he felt her grin against hips lips, before he pulled back from her mouth.

“That’s what I did,” he whispered.

“How silly of him,” Padmé said sliding her lips along his neck, “to ignore something so excellent.” Then her voice pitched low again. “Show me what you would have liked to have done?”

He swallowed. 

He hadn’t allowed himself to give it much thought. What might he have done if Obi-Wan had wanted it?

This would be fun.

Anakin nodded and pinned her back against the counter, mouth hot against hers. Their hands aimlessly explored, clutching and pulling them both together, needy and insistent. Anakin slid his mouth along Padmé’s jaw, tongue lapping at her skin, and trailed down her neck. He bit down, and thrust against her, drawing a groan from her throat, her nails dragging down his scalp like lightning across his skin.

“I want to mark him,” he said against her throat, her head thrown back and chest heaving, “just like this.” Anakin moved his mouth to just below her ear, where neck met jaw, and sucked insistently. He knew he had a fixation on marking people. He always did it to Padmé, with her only just able to hide them beneath her senatorial gowns in the past. He wanted people to _know_ she was his. He wanted to see that Obi-Wan was his. 

Anakin could feel the vibrations in her throat, her hands pulling his head closer. “Yup. He’s missing out,” Padmé panted and Anakin chuckled.

He continued nipping and nosing at her neck, hands making quick work of her shirt, fingers unbuttoning the front and shucking it off her shoulders. He slowly moved his intentions downward, kissing past her neck, down to her collarbones and then to her breasts, paying attention to each individually. He avoided going too close to her nipples though. He’d made that mistake once a couple of weeks back and Padmé had not stopped laughing at his shocked expression for a good ten minutes. That one was off their repertoire for a while longer.

Once she was panting and clawing at his head again, he moved lower, tongue sliding down her naval an arriving at the top of her skirt. Not bothering to even try removing it, he rucked it up and continued down, sliding her underwear off of her hips. 

He moved back up, intending to twist her around, when she seized his face and pulled him down for a breathless kiss. Her hands wandered before sneaking her hands beneath his shirt and tugging it over his head. Anakin allowed the brief distance, helping to shrug out of the shirt before lunging back in for another kiss. 

Suddenly, there was a very determined hand working its way into his pants. “What have we here?” Padmé mouthed against his cheek, firmly wrapping a hand around his cock. Padmé was a fucking force of nature when she put her mind to it.

Force that felt good. Anakin fell forward against her as she stroked him firmly, whispering endearments in his ear and kissing along his face. He closed his eyes briefly, indulging in the hot pleasure searing through his veins, moaning helplessly into her ear. When Padmé nipped at his lips, drawing him back out of his head, he acted.

Anakin pulled away and placed his hands on Padmé’s hips, whispering, "Turn around." His hands were gentle and guiding, and he turned her so she was leaning over the counter. Padmé allowed it and followed his lead, smirking at him the whole time.

“You wanted Obi-Wan on the speeder?” Padmé laughed. “You’re so predictable, dearest. You and your machines.”

He just hummed at her. He’d forgotten this was the game they were playing… however he would have loved to have Obi-Wan against the speeder, or the other way around honestly. He was not very fussy in that regard.

He dropped to his knees behind her. Anakin leant in and nipped at her inner thigh, mouthing toward her warm folds. He stroked his hands up and down her legs, slowly, tantalisingly getting closer, Padmé letting out breathless cries above him. She was already damp, flushed and wanting and waiting for him. He lunged in, lapping at her hungrily, alternating between licking and sucking at her skin. Padmé leant back into him, muttering something unintelligible above him.

After a few minutes of his attention, she slapped violently at his shoulder, “Ah, Ani,” she whispered, her voice was breathless and high. “Stop it, so close. I want you in me.”

He stood up and pressed the line of his body along her back, kissing the back of her neck, only undoing his pants enough so his cock could spring free. He could feel the tip brush against her warmth, and he was so, _so_ ready. He licked his lips.

“I’m up to date, did you have your pill today?” Anakin muttered against her shoulder blades, his hips canting forward gently against her.

Padmé moaned and pressed back against him. “Ngh, yes, all up to date, we’re good. Come on, Ani, I need you.”

“As you wish,” he allowed and gently bit the back of her neck. 

He pressed inside her slowly, warm and wet. Padmé whined piteously at the slow pace and tried to push back against him, but Anakin held her firmly in place, moving to rest his hands over hers on the bench and swallowed down the groan that was threatening to escape his throat. She tilted her head back, kissing whatever of his face she could reach as he pushed into the hilt. Padmé leant forward again, glancing back over her shoulder. “I want to feel it Ani, come on.”

He started slow, gently moving in and out, kissing along her spine as he went. As her breathing stuttered, he moved faster, thrusting into Padmé with intent, a moan being ripped from his own lips. Force, she felt incredible. 

Padmé looked stunning beneath him, a flush spread across her shoulders and her hair still perfectly in place from his handiwork. Her neck was already dark with splotches of where he had bitten and sucked her skin. Her shirt lay on the bench beside her hand, and her skirt was flipped up to her waist. It was a fucking breathtaking sight to behold.

He could feel the tight coil in his stomach continue to wind near painfully. He wasn't going to last much longer. Anakin curled his right hand around her fingers, and with his other hand he reached beneath her, his fingers rubbing unfalteringly at her heat.

“Oh, fuck,” Padmé exclaimed, dropping her head forward, her head hanging low over the bench. “Ani, come on—ah, please…”

She let out a final cry, high and stuttering, and he could feel her clenching around him. He thrust a few more times, fucking her through her orgasm, before he came, straining forward and letting out a cry, hot pleasure pulsating though his whole body,with his head resting against her back. 

Anakin closed his eyes, just breathing against her skin for a few minutes until Padmé shimmied away and tugged him to sit on the floor of the kitchen as they caught their breath.

“Well,” she said finally, back pressed up against the cabinets, “I’d say Obi-Wan definitely missed out.”

Anakin laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. Padmé pressed a kiss to his cheek and snuggled in close. Anakin buried his face in her hair, breathing in her smell, now less like vanilla, and more like heat and sand. Like home. Padmé curled her body into his, sliding in as close as she could, peppering the side of his face with kisses.

It was of course the exact moment that crying started from the stairwell.

Anakin dropped his head back against the cupboards, a resonant bang filling the air. “They’re probably hungry.”

Padmé gestured to her bare breasts and laughed. “Well at least we’re prepared.”

He joined her in her mirth before standing up and offering her a hand. Padmé took it, grabbed her shirt from the bench and walked quickly to the bathroom muttering, “Give me a minute and then I’ll go see what they want. You finish dinner.”

Anakin nodded and reordered himself, fixing his clothes and pulling his shirt back on. Well that had certainly been something. 

Mind reordered, Anakin focused on dinner again, and began cooking up all the ingredients.

On her dash back through the kitchen, shirt still grasped in her hand, Padmé pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, murmuring, “I’ll be right back,” and then vanished downstairs to attend to the crying.

* * *

It took time, but they settled back into a new routine over the next three months. 

The twins continued to develop quickly. Leia, as suspected, quickly worked out how to sit up on her own and would stare fixedly at whatever her parents were doing. Luke took a little bit longer, but picked up on sitting upright a few weeks after his sister. They would often engage in babbling conversations with one another and with their parents, both Anakin and Padmé facilitating this and feeding their interest in the world. They were both also starting to make vague crawling motions which ended in a few hectic days of Padmé baby-proofing the entire house of the off chance one of them suddenly worked it out and began exploring. There had also been a couple of instances of things spontaneously making their way into the twins grasp. Anakin had been thrilled the first time he had watched Luke mentally drag his toy Artoo over from across the room. 

Padmé had paused where she stood, looked at Anakin, then Luke, and then Anakin again, and asked, “Was that you?”

Anakin had grinned at her. “Nope. Luke did that on his own.”

“ _Fantastic,_ ” Padmé had huffed, “now they’ve got magic powers. We’re going to have to nail everything down.”

Anakin had just laughed at her. “It will be fine. I’m stronger than they are; I can override it if they’re doing something stupid.”

Padmé had just pressed her lips together in displeasure.

They also spoke to Obi-Wan at random intervals, only managing five visual calls over the next three months. He was still trying to get passage to Coruscant but it was proving more difficult than he had thought, especially as a fugitive. He’d been overjoyed on the occasions when the twins had been awake and able to see him. Luke had been thrilled, screaming out his happiness at a truly painful pitch. Leia had been pleased as well, but evidently wary of his sudden illusionary appearances. Anakin could not blame her at all.

Obi-Wan, annoyingly, managed to somehow get out of any conversation he or Padmé tried to raise about the three of them. Excuses ranging from pirate attacks to other passengers to tech emergencies to a poor connection.

“I— I can’t hear what you’re—I have to go,” Obi-Wan had stammered out when Padmé had tried to bring it up for the fourth time, before he suddenly cut the connection.

Padmé stared at the blank screen for a moment before asking incredulously, “Did he just pull the ‘oh no you’re breaking up’ card on a perfectly functioning connection?”

“Yeah he did,” Anakin confirmed. He’d known this was going to happen. Obi-Wan was nothing if not stubborn.

He did however look much better than he had. He appeared to have put back on some of the weight he’d lost around Mustafar and Artoo had occasionally messaged Anakin with updates on how they were going. There was nothing worrying in any of the messages, so perhaps this trip really was doing Obi-Wan a planet of good.

Anakin suspected this trip was going to keep Obi-Wan away for a while yet.


	14. Raiders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my GOD this week has been a rollercoaster. So long story short: quit the job I just got as I was physically threatened by a man on my second day which was a one-way trip to panic-attack city, and have since decided that I want to move back to Melbourne (flying home in a week) and have joyously been accepted into an animation degree! yay! So yeah, updates might be sporadic for the next couple of weeks as I go back to Aus from the UK. 
> 
> Also, big shout out to EllanaCaldin who offered to proofread past chapters so I can fix up all those pesky errors I keep missing! Love your work!
> 
> As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. (Also, I guessed and made up some medical and baby things this chapter, so if you have accuracy suggestions, please let me know, google is only so helpful lol).
> 
> Also, thank you so much to those of you who comment, you give me life and motivation!

It had been six months since Obi-Wan had left and the twins were now ten months old. They had discovered how to crawl terrifyingly soon after she and Anakin had baby proofed the house; all sharp corners had been softened, the door to the stairs was permanently closed, and anything interesting had been moved to where neither of the twins could see it. Padmé had initially thought that just putting items up high would help, but unfortunately the pair of them had worked out that they could drag things to them with the Force, making almost anything reachable for them. Padmé had become very creative in hiding things.

Now that Luke and Leia were mobile they were both terrifying forces of nature, scooting around the floor with ease, following either parent around whenever they could. They also enjoyed playing with anything they could get their little hands on. Anakin, being the big softie he was, had taken to making them little child-safe creations of metal, plastic and bolts which they could fiddle with. Luke particularly enjoyed the long plastic tube with movable parts on the outside, enjoying sliding them back and forth. Leia liked organising and stacking things so Padmé had found a selection of plastic containers that Leia could play with, carefully putting the smaller containers into the bigger ones with the most intense stare Padmé had seen on a child. Padmé also continued to make knitted toys, adding a loth-cat and woollen Threepio to the twins' collection.

Threepio had shut off a few months back, a circuit in his head malfunctioned catastrophically so that he was just repeating the word ‘Meiloorun’ non stop until Anakin had shut him off before either of them could lose their minds. So far, he hadn't been able to find a suitable replacement part so Threepio had become a decorative (if vaguely unsettling) ornament in the lounge room.

Luke and Leia were also trying to talk more and attempting to vocalise the sounds their parents made. Padmé was attempting to teach them useful, everyday words like ‘socks’ and ‘bottle’ and ‘kitchen’, wheres Anakin did those common words, as well a trying to introduce them to ‘sensors’ and ‘telemetry’ and ‘thrusters’. It was adorable, if potentially misguided. Regardless, the twins both enjoyed it, and would try the new words as they went. So far, it was still predominately gibberish, but they were trying and they were interested.

On prompting by Brato, who had stopped by when the twins were around seven months, they had also started introducing solid foods into the twins diet—apparently they should have done so a few months back, but neither had known so it had just been missed. Anakin managed to keep working on and off for the trader who had access to fruits, so both twins were now enjoying a variety of squashed fruits and vegetables on top of their mother’s milk.

They had also started taking the twins out of the house with them. Padmé had brought the pair of them to visit Jeina, who had doted over them both and then handed Padmé some more knitting patterns for clothes which had been very exciting. Padmé had been relieved when neither twin levitated anything on that visit. That would be difficult to explain away. It had also been good to have adult interaction other than Anakin. She hadn't realised how much she missed it until Owen and Beru had had their individual visits.

On some mornings and evenings, Padmé and Anakin gave the twins some time to play outside when it wasn’t too hot. Both children found sand _amazing_ and would spend endless stretches of time just running their hands through it and drawing patterns on the ground. They had both tried to eat it once, and once was enough for them to learn that it was not delicious. Anakin seemed personally offended that both children loved it so much.

“It’s not right,” Anakin had said, watching the pair of them grab tiny fistfuls of grans, scattering them about, giggling happily and nattering at one another. 

“They can like whatever they want.” Padmé had laughed.

Anakin scrunched up his nose but reluctantly joined them in sitting on the ground. “Sand is still objectively terrible and the second it’s safe, we are moving to a planet with absolutely no sand.”

Luke immediately decided that piling sand onto his father’s lap was an excellent idea. Anakin made a face, but allowed it with Padmé laughing at him the whole time. He was so weak to his children and Padmé loved it.

Anakin had resumed his repair business more fully, frequently making trips out during the day to fix up people's broken items. The business had picked up in the last month, with many people reporting Tusken attacks on farms and farm equipment which required Anakin's skills to repair it. So far their farm had been left alone, likely due to it’s isolated location. Regardless, Anakin always made sure the hand blasters and rifle where located near to the door (but out of tiny eye-sight) just in case.

It was also getting easier to manage without Obi-Wan. Padmé had stopped trying to call for him or turn to ask him something a few months back, though she still missed his presence. She hoped he would decide to come home soon.

* * *

Padmé entered the lounge from the kitchen and stopped mid-step at the scene that greeted her.

“Anakin, what the hell are you doing?”

Anakin looked up at her from where he was reclined on the couch, a manual for something open on his lap. “Reading to the twins?”

Padmé rolled her eyes, raised her eyebrows, and gestured to where said twins were floating beside him. Luke was rolling around in a way that made Padmé feel slightly nauseous, and Leia just stared intently at her father and the book.

Anakin smiled. “Oh, right. They like it.”

“ _Ani_ ,” Padmé said, rubbing a hand over her face, “you can’t just levitate them.”

He frowned. “Why not?”

“You… you should hold them properly.” There wasn’t a concrete reason Padmé didn’t like it. It just…it weirded her out. Her children should not be _floating in the air_. “What if they fall?” That was a good point.

“Padmé, my ability to hold them in the Force is _technically_ probably better than me physically holding them. This thing doesn't always want to do what I want,” Anakin said, waving his right hand around. “They’re not going to fall.”

Padmé humphed at him and crossed her arms. “Well I don’t like it.”

“Do you trust me?” Anakin asked.

“Of course.”

“Then there you go. I’ve got them,” Anakin said with finality and returned to reading the book to Leia. 

She was evidently fascinated in—Padmé moved closer and looked down at the book—solar panel maintenance. Thrilling.

Padmé felt a tug at her hair.

“Ow. Luke, no, we don’t do that, that hurts Mummy,” Padmé said, turning to catch the little terror in her arms. “Shall we give them lunch and put them down for a nap? I need to do a vaporator check soon.”

“Sounds good.”

They fed both twins, Anakin getting a bit of mushed fruit into one, while Padmé breastfed the other, before swapping them around until both were content. They then took them downstairs and tucked them in.

Padmé left Anakin on the couch, still leafing through his manual, as she headed outside for her round. Now that the twins didn’t need her every second of the day, she was able to help out more. She started at the first vaporator and worked her way around, humming to herself and letting her mind float a bit. She'd become more used to the hot temperatures and the blazing suns so much that it generally didn’t bother her anymore. 

Padmé brushed the sand from the sensors of the fifth machine and froze when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned quickly and saw a trail of banthas crossing the desert, Tuskens astride them, coming directly toward the farm with a whirlwind of sand trailing behind them. Fucking fuck.

Okay. Breathe. Anakin had told her what to do. Padmé allowed all the terror she was feeling overwhelm her, mentally screaming his name out into the universe. She had no idea how it could possibly work, but Anakin assured her it would—at least across short distances.

Anakin suddenly burst out of the house, the blaster rifle slung over his arm. He jogged over the sand to where Padmé stood and handed her a blaster pistol. She knew that they had to both stand their ground; the Tuskens would take it as weakness and defeat if they left.

Padmé counted seven of them, tall and draped in a selection of brown rags, their faces hidden behind terrifying masks.

At some unseen signal they stopped and jumped down from their Banthas, slung weapons over their shoulders and cautiously approached Anakin and Padmé. They moved almost perfectly in sync, slow and deliberate as they formed a wide semi-circle around them, some ten meters away. The wind whipped across the planes around them, kicking up dust and sending it flying across the ground between the two groupd. Padmé could feel her heart pounding in her chest. While she completely trusted Anakin to keep them safe, seven against two would always look like terrible odds. 

There was a long silence and Padmé gripped the blaster in her hand tightly. She had to protect her family.

“Leave,” Anakin called to where they stood, his tone dark and his posture relaxed but with hand still firmly clasped around the rifle in a position Padmé knew he could pull up very swiftly. “We will fight back and you will not win. Leave.”

One Tusken raised his weapon slightly.

“This is our land. Leave.” Padmé yelled.

A bang echoed through the air.

Padmé screamed. A searing pain burned along her upper left arm. Hot, so kriffing hot. Padmé reactively clasped her right hand over her arm, folding in on herself. She glanced at it and watched as blood pooled between her fingers and slid over each digit before oozing slowing down her arm. That was not good. That and it _fucking hurt_. It didn’t feel like a blaster burn either. Her arm throbbed painfully and her heart raced so much that her blood pounded heavily in her ears.

A snarl drew her attention back up.

_Anakin_.

Padmé snapped her head around. Anakin stood rigid and tall, with feet planted firmly in the sand, his hand clasped in a fist before him. His eyes were dark and focused and _furious_. His face was contorted in rage, directed squarely at the Tuskens still surrounding them.

Tuskens whose hands scrabbled at their necks, unable to get a breath in, thier weapons dropped on the ground beside them.

_No!_

Padmé rushed forward, throwing herself in front of Anakin and turning to stare up into his face. It hurt to move so suddenly, pain lancing down her arm, the heat of the wound returning full force. Don’t panic. Don’t be scared. Ignore the pain. Focus.

His eyes stared straight over her.  Blue. Still blue.

Padmé reached up and cupped Anakin’s face in her right palm, the pain in her left too agonising to move, and attempted to bend his face toward her.

“Anakin, look at me,” she began, trying to be firm and demanding but she could feel her legs shaking. “You have to stop. This isn’t right. Let them go.”

Anakin’s eyes flickered briefly to her.

“That’s it, come on, look at me.” Padmé rubbed her thumb in soothing circles on Anakin’s cheek, ignoring the way it smeared her blood across his skin. “I’m okay, but I need your help. Let them go. Come on, Ani.”

Anakin blinked and finally turned his head toward her. His _blue-blue-blue_ eyes finally connected with hers. “Ani, let them go. You’ve made your point. Don’t do this again. Please, I need you. Luke and Leia need you.”

Something shifted behind his eyes. They widened in horror, his mouth slipping open from where it had been set in a thin line, Padmé able to hear his sharp inhale. Out of the corner of her eye, Padmé saw his clenched, upright hand release it’s hold and drop.

Anakin’s eyes refocused on her, scanning over her face before fixating on where her arm still burned, where she could feel the slick wetness of blood sliding down it. He inhaled sharply and turned his attention to the Tuskens behind her. Padmé stepped back and briefly turned to check they were okay.

The seven raiders were crouched on the ground, in various states of visible shock, fear and pain, weakly trying to reach for their guns. 

“GET OUT OF HERE!” Anakin yelled at the Tuskens, stepping forward threateningly, throwing out his hand and sending their guns sliding backwards on the sand. “Don’t _EVER_ come back or I _will_ kill you!”

The Tuskens scattered instantly. They snatched up their discarded weapons as they sprinted away from the homestead to where there banthas waited. They climbed on and set a demanding pace away from the farm, vanishing into the distance.

Padmé felt sick.

Her world tilted slightly as dizziness overcame her. She stumbled over her own feet, only just managing to catch herself on Anakin with her right hand.

“Padmé?” Anakin asked, his hand moving to rest on her waist, the other hovered nervously by the oozing wound on her arm.

“This kriffing hurts,” Padmé gritted out, feeling her legs continue to shake. “How does it look?” 

She didn’t want to look at it again. 

Anakin pressed his lips together, frowning deeply. That wasn’t a good sign. Anakin pulled back from her and hastily whipped off his tunic. His hair was very mussed from that. It was kinda cute. All scruffy.

“Padmé?” She felt a hot hand touch her cheek.

Padmé blinked. “Hm?”

“How are you feeling?”

The only way to describe it was, “Really weird. Also my arm hurts.”

Anakin just kept frowning. 

“Okay… I’m going to wrap up the wound. It’s going to hurt though. Then I’m carrying you back inside and calling Brato. Understand?” Anakin asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

Padmé screwed her eyes up and clenched her teeth as Anakin pressed his shirt to her arm, then wrapped a — wire? where’d he get that? — around the cloth. The whole thing _hurt_ and Padmé groaned through gritted teeth, muffling the sound. 

“Sorry. Sorry,” Anakin murmured. “All done.”

Anakin then moved around to her right and looped and arm beneath her back and the other beneath her knees, quickly and efficiently scooping Padmé into his arms. Padmé rested her head on his chest and painfully curled her injured arm to her own chest. She winced at each jarring movement, the pain ricocheting up her neck. She was ridiculously relieved when she suddenly found herself indoors and being carefully placed on the couch.

Padmé sat on the couch, leaning back against the pillows, eyes half lidded while she listened to Anakin scamper around the room before she heard the familiar beep of Anakin’s comm unit.

“Hello?” That sounded like Brato.

“It’s, uh, Seripas. Aurra’s been shot,” Anakin said all in a rush. “Tusken raiders.”

“Damn,” he said before his voice went completely clinical. “Is she breathing?”

Anakin’s eyes widened. “Yes.”

“Is she conscious?”

He nodded. “Yes, but a bit delirious.”

Padmé had thought she was doing okay? Maybe not. She felt kinda vague.

“Okay. Where was she shot?” Brato’s voice brought her focus back out.

“Left arm, upper part on the outside."

A pause. “Have you done anything to stop the bleeding?”

“Yes,” Anakin nodded reflexively. “I padded it with my shirt and wrapped it up for pressure.”

“Good. How much blood has she lost?” Brato’s voice crackled.

Anakin glanced back at her nervously. “Probably nearly a litre.”

“Okay, she’ll probably be fine, but I’m coming now. You need to stay calm and I need you to lay her on the couch and elevate her feet, then put some blankets over her to keep her warm and make sure she keeps breathing,” Brato said in an even tone.

Anakin ran a shaking hand through his hair. “Okay. Yeah. Okay.”

“See you soon.” The connection cut.

Anakin was suddenly in her field of vision. “Got to do what the doctor says. Lay back now, darling.”

Padmé did as instructed, carefully laying back and doing her best not to move her arm. Anakin snuck a flat pillow beneath her head and then stacked a pile of pillows beneath her feet. He vanished for a few minutes before re-appearing with the blanket that had been on Obi-Wan’s bed and wrapping her up in it.

Anakin stroked a hand over her head, kneeling beside her on the floor and talking softly.

“The twins are fine. They’re still asleep,” Anakin told her.

“That’s good.” Padmé felt a bit faint and breathless.

It felt like it was all only hitting her now. She’d been _shot._ She could have _died_. Her babies could have lost their mother today. Padmé felt her chest constrict, the panic and fear and pain pressing in on her from all sides.

“How are you feeling?” Anakin seemed so very far away.

Padmé lolled her head to the side, trying to focus on him, and managing a weak, “Awful.”

Anakin spoke to her for a period of time. It could have been a few minutes, or a few hours, but Padmé was struggling to focus and so it began blurring together. She could tell it was warm and loving but with the sharp edge of Anakin’s anxiety. She felt bad for stressing him out.

Padmé flinched back suddenly when Brato’s distinctive orange and black face appeared above her head.

“Apologies, didn’t mean to startle you,” Brato said pulling away slowly, Padmé tracking him with her eyes. “How do you feel?”

Padmé frowned, trying to focus on herself again. “Arm hurts. Everything is…weird.”

Brato nodded. “I’m going to have to unwrap your arm to have a look at it. Understand?”

“Yes,” Padmé said.

Brato didn’t move for a few moments and Padmé just stared back at him, perplexed as to what he was doing.

“You need to let go of your arm, Padmé,” he said, his finger lightly tapping at her right hand where it sat on her chest.

Oh. She hadn’t realised she was doing that. Padmé released her right hand where it was clasped tightly around her left wrist, cradling her arm into herself.

Padmé cried out in pain and turned her face away from him as Brato moved her arm.

“Sorry, I’ll be as quick as I can,” Brato said calmly.

The first wave of pain passed and settled into a dull throb as he unwound what Anakin had put there. Padmé refused to look at any of it, keeping her head resolutely turned toward the back wall of the couch. Nope nope nope nope—

“Okay. All done. Just having a look now,” Brato said. 

Padmé really appreciated his bedside manner. She wanted to hit him for the pain he was inflicting on her, but he was at least communicating well. Small mercies. Padmé could hear him shuffle around a bit, likely examining the damage, and moving her arm as little as he could.

There was a final sigh. “Okay. Good news and bad news,” Brato said. “Good news being that you haven’t lost too much blood and the wound it doesn’t look too bad so it shouldn’t be difficult to patch up. Bad news is that Tuskens use slugs and the metal is still lodged in your arm, so we have to get it out.”

Oh no no no. Padmé felt her face crumple in fear and sadness, her eyes scrunching closed.

“I thought that might be the case so I brought everything I could need, including anaesthetic, so you’re not going to feel anything, okay?”

Padmé could only nod, swallowing a sob that was trying exceptionally hard to escape her throat.

“We’re going to have to move you though. This is not a good angle and I don’t want to hurt you. Okay?” Brato asked.

Padmé nodded again.

Brato carefully slid an arm beneath her back and hefted her upwards, Padmé wincing at the movement. He did as Anakin had done earlier and lifted her bridal style before depositing her on the dining table.

Brato instructed Anakin to bring a pillow over which he put back under her head. Anakin gave her a reassuring smile.

“What are you going to do?” Padmé asked to the ceiling, attempting to tamp down on her fear. 

Brato smiled as he leant over her, his brown eyes warm and friendly. “I’m going to numb the whole area, remove the shrapnel, clean it all up with some bacta, sew it up and then get some fluids back into you. Sound good?”

“No,” Padmé murmured, “but it’s gotta happen.”

“It will all be fine,” Brato told her and then focused on Anakin. “Keep her distracted?”

She heard Anakin step around the table and come to sit on a chair to her right, the chair squeaking as he pulled it along the floor. Anakin's metallic fingertips touched down softly on her left cheek and guided her to turn her head.

Padmé did so and was greeted with Anakin’s lovely face giving her a reassuring smile. He then clasped her hand in his and brought it up to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “You’ll be okay. Focus on me, yeah?”

Padmé nodded. She could do that.

The next couple of hours passed in a blur of Anakin talking nonsense to her while she stared at his face, not really focusing on what he said. He was so terribly pretty. Anakin’s hair had grown out past his shoulders now, and when it was down loose, he just looked so soft and sweet and Padmé wanted to cuddle up to him. His hand in hers was enough for now. She couldn’t feel what Brato was doing and the pain that had been radiating along her arm had almost completely disappeared, with only echoes of it lingering about her neck and chest. She just really wanted to sleep now. Instead she stared into Anakin’s clear blue eyes and long lashes and thought about how nice it was to kiss him. 

“All right. We’re done,” Brato said suddenly.

Anakin looked up from Padmé for the first time in hours and over to where Brato had been working; Padmé did the same, turning her head over to have a look. The whole area was wrapped up in cloth with a needle feeding clear liquid into her arm which Brato was now fiddling with, seemingly with the intention of removing it. She had not felt any of that at all.

“How are you feeling?” Brato asked.

Padmé thought about it for a moment. “Tired, mainly.”

Brato stared at her. “Not feeling weird anymore?” 

“Not really.”

Brato nodded and then finished removing the needle and checking her over again. He took her pulse and her temperature and then deemed her fine. “I think we caught you before there was too much blood loss and before shock could really set in, so you should be fine. Obviously if you start feeling unusual again, please call me back or come into town. Now, keep it clean, take painkillers, change the bandages once a day for the next week and apply a little bit of bacta to help speed it along.” Brato pushed a small pile of bandages and bacta into Anakin’s arms. “Try not to move it much for the next couple of weeks—don’t carry either child in that arm for at least a month—watch out for infection, and come into town in a week so I can check it all and remove the stitches. Got it?”

Anakin nodded. “Yeah, I’ve done this before. What do we owe you?”

“Well, I’ve got a large selection of things at my surgery that could use some fixing up, if you’d like to do a bit of a trade?” Brato suggested.

“Sure,” Anakin agreed. “I’ll come check them out when Padmé comes in for her check up.”

Brato grinned brightly. “Excellent. Now, you get her into bed for a long sleep. I can let myself out.” He then finished gathering his materials from the table, sweeping them into his bag, and disappeared out the door.

“Come on you,” Anakin prompted, sliding a hand under Padmé’s back and gently lifting her so she was upright on the table. 

“I can move on my own,” Padmé whined, trying to distance herself a bit. Now that she was feeling a bit better, there was a tinge of embarrassment at the edge of her mind at her unusual behaviour earlier.

“Yeah, I know, but I want to help,” Anakin said gently. “Do you really want to overdo it and hurt yourself more?”

Padmé sighed and conceded the point. “No.”

Anakin helped her off the table, careful to avoid her bandaged arm, and took her downstairs. Luke and Leia were both awake in their cribs, Luke sitting down and Leia standing while grasping the side of her bed, both chatting away to one another. 

“Hello,” Anakin greeted both of them, followed by an excited shriek from the pair. Padmé grinned as Anakin continued talking to them, “Mommy’s going to have a sleep, and you two can come play upstairs with Daddy, okay?”

Anakin’s question was met with more shrieking.

Padmé clambered into bed, her skin practically tingling from how soft it all was. Lying on a table for a few hours had _not_ been comfortable and a mattress and soft blanket now felt like quite the luxury. Anakin tucked her in and pressed a kiss to her lips. 

“I’ll feed and exhaust them both, then I’ll be back, okay?” Anakin asked, hovering inches above her face.

“Okay.”

Anakin kissed her again. “Get some sleep.”

Padmé watched as Anakin collected up the twins, with potentially more levitation than she was comfortable with, but sighed and ignored it for now. Anakin vanished out the door with the pair of them, switching the light off behind him. Padmé closed her eyes.

She was woken again as Anakin climbed into bed beside her. She hadn’t realised she’d fallen asleep, but the drool pooling at the side of her mouth was a clear indication she had.

“How’re they?” Padmé murmured, rolling onto her right side to face Anakin who was just visible in the near darkness.

“Fine,” Anakin said. “Had their dinner, had a play and a crawl around, then a quick bath. They’re both in bed now. How are you feeling?”

It all came crashing down on her at once. All the feelings she’d pushed aside and tried to ignore dropped over her like a cold bucket of water.

“I was so scared,” Padmé sobbed, “so scared, Ani.”

“Shhhh,” Anakin soothed, curling in closer and running a hand down her back. 

Padmé hid her face under his chin and cried. She’d been terrified that the Tuskens could hurt her children, scared that she’d been shot, horrified that Anakin nearly lost it again, and her mind kept stumbling over the thought that she could have _died_ today if that shot been a little to the left. Padmé knew she was okay, but the _what ifs_ were pressing in on her, cluttering up her mind and creating a whirlwind of fear within her chest.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Anakin repeated on loop and she was unsure if it was for her or for himself. 

After a final sniffle, Padmé pulled away and could see mirrored tear tracks on Anakin’s face. He’d been so calm and supportive all afternoon after his initial outburst, it didn't surprise her he’d cracked as well. 

“Thank you,” Padmé said softly, feeling exhausted again after crying.

Anakin gave her a weak smile followed by a large yawn, water beading at the edges of his eyes.

Padmé smiled and said, “Time for you to sleep now, too.”

* * *

The two days passed in a blur of painkillers and frustrating limitations. Padmé kept forgetting she couldn't use her arm, and would reflexively try to move it before realising that it was a poor choice. She was careful to keep it away from the twins who she was sure would love to climb up her arm given half the chance. Anakin was at least on top of this and would distract either child when they were too boisterous with their mother. She also had moments of dizziness when she pushed herself for too long. Anakin was helpful and attentive to her needs, helping her rewrap it when needed, and telling her to go rest when she began to feel overwhelmed.

The second day after, Padmé was still sore but the bacta and painkillers were clearly working their magic, and she wasn’t feeling quite so fragile. That evening Anakin had disappeared downstairs to put Luke and Leia to bed, so she had the lounge to herself. After a few minutes of sitting quietly on the couch reading a trashy romance novel Jeina had leant her, she realised that they hadn’t contacted Obi-Wan in a while. Padmé felt like she needed to let him know about the Tuskens, as he’d likely be very displeased when he found out about it however-long down the line. She’d initiated their honesty policy and she had to uphold that. Padmé put the book down went over to the communication device and switched it on. 

She sent through a quick message to Artoo to give to Obi-Wan.  _How goes the travelling? It has been exciting here. We had some Tuskens attack the house, but everyone is safe. — Padmé_

After only a few moments, a call came through from Artoo. Padmé accepted it and Obi-Wan appeared on screen, blue and wavy.

“Are you all okay?” Obi-Wan began, his forehead crinkled with worry.

Padmé couldn’t help but smile. Obi-Wan was so sweet. “Mostly. The twins were inside and totally safe, but I did get shot.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened, and his voice changed into a tone of deep concern, “Are you okay?”

“A bit sore, but yes,” Padmé confirmed gently. “I was just caught on the arm, nothing terrible or life threatening.”

Obi-Wan sighed, visibly relieved. “Oh, thank the Force. I assume you managed to chase off the raiders then?”

Padmé pressed her lips together and glanced away for a moment, eyes fixing on where Luke had left his Artoo toy lying on the floor. Honesty.

“Padmé?”

She let out a noise of frustration. “Yes, we did—well Anakin did. He...” She could barely bring herself to say it, but then it came spilling out go her. “Anakin nearly killed them. He was so _angry_ that they’d shot me and he just, seemed to be choking them? I got him to stop and the raiders left, but it was so close, Obi-Wan.”

“He stopped though?” Obi-Wan asked quietly.

Padmé nodded. “Yes. I had to yell at him, but he did. He listened.”

"And he didn't..." 

"He didn't go Dark," Padmé confirmed, sensing where he was going.

“That’s good,” Obi-Wan said. “And you’re both okay now?”

“I’m just healing now, and Anakin has been fine since. The twins are unaware there was ever an issue,” Padmé said, smiling. “So how are you?”

“I am fine. I have finally made it to Coruscant, so I may not be able to talk for very long or very often,” Obi-Wan returned. “There is a very strong Imperial presence here.”

Padmé frowned. “I bet.”

At a sudden sound, Padmé looked up and saw Anakin come from downstairs. Padmé smiled and beckoned him over. “Ani, I have Obi-Wan, come say hello.”

Anakin stalked over and sat down beside Padmé, an odd frown on his face.

Obi-Wan smiled. “Hello Anakin, Padmé was just telling me about—”

“You should have been here!” Anakin exclaimed suddenly.

“ _Ani_!” Padmé rounded on him, horrified. 

She saw Obi-Wan recoil from the screen. “I’m sorry—”

“No!” Padmé turned back fully to the screen. “Don’t you dare apologise!”

“He should have been here! He would have been able to help!” Anakin argued.

“You _don’t know that!”_ Padmé returned angrily and then spoke to the projection of Obi-Wan. “We’ll call you another time, Sorry, Obi-Wan. Good bye.”

Obi-Wan just nodded before she disconnected the call.

“He could have helped! You might not have been shot!” Anakin repeated still frowning unhappily.

Padmé sighed, too tired and sore and exasperated for this sort of behaviour. “He could have helped, he could have made it worse, he might have been in town and not even here. We don’t _know!_ ”

“But—”

“I understand you were scared and angry but you _can’t take it out on him,_ ” Padmé yelled.

“But Padmé—”

“—No buts, Ani! None of it was his fault! You can’t manipulate people like that!”

Anakin pulled back. “I wasn’t trying to manipulate him.”

“Yeah, well, intended or not, it’s what you were doing,” Padmé said brusquely. “You were trying to make him feel bad for leaving!”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Then you need to think before you speak!” Padmé informed him, standing up and walking away. “I’m sleeping in Obi-Wan’s room. Goodnight, Anakin.”

She ignored him when he called her name. Padmé was not going to stand for this sort of rubbish. Anakin had to learn. She probably shouldn’t have been so harsh but fuck it, she _hurt_ and she couldn’t find it within herself to care right now. She just needed time to herself.

Padmé lay in the darkness of Obi-Wan’s room, feeling an incredibly frustrating mixture of exhausted and too keyed up to actually sleep. She’d been turning over trying to get comfortable for at least an hour; rotating between lying on her right side, then her back, then realising she can’t lie on her left side because it _fucking hurts_ , and then rotating through the pattern again. It was only managing to increase he ire at the world. 

Gods knew she loved Anakin but sometimes he just didn’t _think_ and he could be terribly insensitive. She loved him so much, but sometimes he could be so Gods-damned frustrating. He'd been doing so well for the past few months as well.

Padmé heard the door creak open followed by Anakin’s heavy footsteps as he entered the room.

It was silent for a few moments before she heard him inhale. “Padmé?”

“Hmm.”

“I’m sorry,” Anakin said softly to the darkness. 

Padmé sighed. “I’m not the one you should be apologising to.”

She heard Anakin shuffle around, moving to sit beside her.

“I know,” Anakin agreed, “but I wanted to apologise to you for losing control the way I did when they…shot you.”

Padmé rolled over to look up at him, just able to see his silhouette. “Thank you, Ani. I’m proud of you though; you managed to curb it in and you didn’t completely lose it. It took a minute but you _stopped._ That’s good progress; you didn’t kill any of them and you listened to me.”

“Thank you,” Anakin said softly.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier,” Padmé replied. "I was tired and sore and wasn't in the right headspace for a sensible conversation. I shouldn't have yelled or left this conversation half done."

Anakin nodded. “Thank you. You were right, though,” Anakin then admitted. “I didn’t think about what I was saying and it was an unfair thing to do to Obi-Wan.”

“You should tell him that. Come here,” Padmé said and lifted the blanket so Anakin could crawl in.

Anakin did as offered and snuggled up against her.

“We should really get Obi-Wan an actual bed,” Anakin murmured after he had pressed his face into her neck. “A mattress on the floor is really not great.”

Padmé hummed in agreement. “True. We also need to put the twins in their own room soon. I’m not sure how we’re going to swing that.”

“Renovate?” Anakin suggested. “We could easily expand down here with a few more rooms. We’ll likely need them eventually as the twins get bigger. They’re not going to want to share a room forever.”

“True,” Padmé agreed. “Let’s talk about it later. I’m tired.”

“Sure. Do you want to stay in here though? We do have our own perfectly good bed.”

“Warm,” was Padmé’s very well thought out reply.

Anakin kissed her neck. “Okay.”

* * *

They called Obi-Wan back a few days later when Padmé wasn’t feeling quite so sore and Anakin had had some time to think through what he wanted to say. 

It took a few tries to get a hold of Obi-Wan, but after the third message, he called them back. Padmé sat beside Anakin, both of them with a twin each on their lap. Luke was babbling happily at Anakin before letting out a happy cry at the appearance of Obi-Wan’s holo-projection.

“Apologies,” Obi-Wan said, “I had to make sure it was safe before I called.”

“Of course, thank you,” Padmé replied.

“Hello there, young ones,” Obi-Wan said, smiling brightly and looking between the twins. 

Luke tried talking to him, babbling happily and reaching forward. Leia was still less pleased but talked at Obi-Wan anyway. Obi-Wan grinned back at both of them, looking happier than they had seen in a long time.

“How is your arm?” Obi-Wan asked finally when Luke finished his one sided conversation.

Padmé smiled. “It’s fine. Still sore but getting there. I should be getting the stitches out in the next couple of days.”

“Oh, that’s good—”

“Obi-Wan I wanted to say sorry for last time,” Anakin cut in, slightly breathless and clearly nervous. “I was upset and I took it out on you. It was uncalled for and I’m sorry if I made you feel bad.”

It was a bit rushed, but it got the point across.

Obi-Wan smiled reflexively, staring at him with blatant fondness. “I—thank you, Anakin. I appreciate it.”

There was a beat of uncomfortable silence, and Leia decided now was the moment to latch her fist into Padmé’s shirt, tugging it down. 

“How is Coruscant?” Padmé asked, gently untangling Leia’s hand.

“Um,” Obi-Wan paused, pressing his lips together. “I think the best way to describe it would be absolutely terrible and very uncivilised. There are troopers nearly everywhere and people are terrified. However—and I’m sure you will find this less amusing after the week,” Obi-Wan said with an odd smile on his face, “but I attended your funeral yesterday, Padmé.”

“Oh did you?” Padmé asked brightly. “How was it? I take it my wishes were ignored and it was not done on Naboo?”

“No, aside for the blatant disregard for any of your wishes, it was rather tasteful,” Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, before he shot her a cheeky grin. “Well, aside from the propaganda. And the Emperor claiming you were his steadfast supporter. Also the holiday in your name.”

Padmé recoiled, her face twisted in disgust with Leia nearly slipping off her lap. “Ugh. I am beyond offended and yet not even _slightly_ surprised Palpatine would do such a thing. I can’t believe I ever supported him. Kriffing two-faced ass—”

“Little ears, darling,” Anakin said, scowling at both of them with his hands pressed over Luke’s ears. He was visibly displeased to be talking about Padmé as though she was dead. She just found it morbidly amusing.

Padmé thought for a moment. “Prick then. Palpatine is a prick. Is he still all wrinkly and melted?”

Obi-Wan just laughed. “Yes, he is. Still claiming it was some Jedi trick. It is not common knowledge that he’s a Sith, just the all-powerful Emperor.”

Anakin scoffed. “He did that to himself.”

Padmé clasped his hand reassuringly and smiled at him. Anakin was incredibly reluctant to talk about anything to do about with his fall, and to her, that small comment was a positive step forward.

“So how did they even manage to get a funeral together? Why am I only dead now?” Padmé asked. It fascinated her; Palpatine was never one to do something without reason.

“It felt like a trap,” Obi-Wan said after a moment of consideration. “Probably for Anakin, maybe for your past supporters. I really don’t think Palpatine has any idea where the three of us are. He doesn’t know if we’re apart or together or even alive, so I think it was a lure. Anakin, if you had been alone and heard of Padmé’s funeral, would you have gone to see if it was her?”

Anakin sighed. “Yeah.”

“Aw, I love you too,” Padmé laughed and kissed his cheek.

“Uh,” Obi-Wan continued, thrown faintly off-kilter. “So they appeared to have a whole story to spin to the public: you caught wind of the Jedi uprising, you tried to tell Palpatine but the Jedi killed you in secret and hid your body. You’ve been missing for months and then a patrol stumbled upon your poor, lightsaber-burn riddled corpse in a lower-level sewer.”

“A classy death for me then,” Padmé groused, sarcasm dripping from her words. “Was there even a body?”

Obi-Wan tipped his head side to side, deliberating. “Obviously they couldn’t show the face, but they covered the body in your clothes and in a thick veil. It could have been a mannequin or a droid or some poor random woman they killed for the purpose. I wasn’t going to get close enough to investigate.”

“Good,” Anakin said decisively.

“I can’t believe they took my clothes,” Padmé grumbled.

Obi-Wan smiled gently at the both of them. “They had plastered pictures of your actual face on everything though. It was a nice picture but the overall effect was…unsettling. I’d probably stay out of town for a while though, it seemed to be being broadcast very widely and it may make it out to you,” Obi-Wan said thoughtfully.

“Thank you, that’s good to know,” Padmé said and inhaled, _ready to talk to Obi-Wan_ —

Obi-Wan’s head snapped around, eyes wide at a loud sound in the distance. He turned quickly back to Anakin and Padmé. “I have to go. I will call you as soon as I can.”

Padmé managed a quick, “Stay safe!” before the connection died. 

“Well at least that seemed like a legitimate reason to escape talking to us,” Anakin joked, bouncing Luke on his lap, though the tightness of his eyes betrayed his worry.

Padmé smiled at him, trying to maintain the levity. “Yes. Well. I’ll get him eventually.”


	15. Temple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By some miracle I somehow managed to churn out 10k in the last four days. Y'all need to take this fic away from me, the full doc is officially over 100k now. This is not what I planned. It's out of control. Send help guys... 
> 
> So, between being trapped on a plane for 24 hours (kill me) and the joy that is JetLag, do not be surprised if next weeks chapter is late. I will do my best, but flying fucking kills me so ya'know, just as a heads up.
> 
> As usual, it is un-beta'd so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Let's go see how Obi-Wan is doing. Enjoy!

It had taken far longer than Obi-Wan had anticipated to get into the Core worlds. Never in his entire life would he have thought that it would take six months to get from the Outer Rim into the Core. If nothing else, it told him that no-one wanted to go to the Core. Everyone seemed to be going in the opposite direction. In all honesty, it seemed like the sensible option.

He took the first leg of the journey with some Weequay pirates and they’d bounced from planet to planet, slowly spiralling in toward the centre of the galaxy. When they’d reached Yavin, the pirates informed him that this was as close as they were going to get to the Core and to “Get the fuck off here,” if that’s where he still wanted to go. He did, so he and Artoo moved on.

He’d then hopped on a smugglers ship as they jumped from Yavin to Phindar to Mandalore (Obi-Wan had refused to get off the ship at all during their stop there) to Obroa-skai. Obi-Wan was slowly begining to notice an increase in Imperial troops as they went, more troops and bases appearing the closer they got to the Core. The smugglers had then accidentally left him on Obroa-skai. At least, he assumed it was an accident. 

He’d then found another group of smugglers who were in desperate need of a droid as their hyperdrive was on the fritz. They went from Taanab to Telti to Alderaan in starts and bursts, Artoo seemingly getting the workout of his life, constantly monitoring the worst ship Obi-Wan had ever had the pleasure of being on, including the one Anakin had leant him in the war. This group of smugglers were more pleasant than the last group, even if they were sneaking large quantities of Spice around the galaxy.

He’d then been stuck on Alderaan for two weeks, hiding in a small shack until he could find a final ship to take him the short distance from there to Coruscant. Eventually, he struck a deal with a Wookiee named Ciirnik who needed a human pilot to get them through the openly racist Coruscant customs checks. Obi-Wan had agreed, pretended to be a man called Orin Balkan, and helped the Wookiee sneak three huge crates of blasters into Coruscant. He didn’t ask where they were going.

He managed to keep in minimal contact with Padmé and Anakin the whole trip. His reasons were twofold. One, the less he called, the less likely anyone could intercept their transmission and thus he was keeping them both safe. And two, he still hadn’t quite processed the whole kissing thing and he _really_ didn’t want to talk about it. Especially after Anakin had decided to tell Obi-Wan that _he loved him_. That had been…something. Wonderful. Awful. Wondawful? He needed a break if his brain was doing that.

Obi-Wan was avoiding it. He knew it, Anakin and Padmé most likely knew it (he was painfully aware of the fact that he’d been getting less subtle in his excuses), and yet he couldn’t stop himself.The best thing to do was put it all out of his mind. They loved each other, they had their children, they were happy and Obi-Wan did _not_ need to go and mess any of it up. That was the end of it. No discussion necessary.

…But those kriffing kisses though.

He’d tried his absolute best to never think of them because on the off chance he did, it became a huge distraction. Obi-Wan could remember exactly how both felt. Padmé had been so soft and insistent, her hands gentle in his hair, and Anakin had just been overwhelming, crowding him in and drawing him closer… Thinking about either was a recipe for feeling far too hot, a little breathless, and more turned on than he had any right to be. His life would be so much easier if all of it had never happened.

Anyway. Time away from them both was helping his mental state. Mustafar no longer visited him so often in his dreams and he was getting more sleep than he had in years. Obi-Wan thought that having time away from Anakin to process everything was doing him a world of good too. It gave him space to separate the two from one another. Vision Anakin was no longer the same person as Alive-and-on-Tatooine Anakin. They had their similarities, certainly, but they were now very different people. Seeing Anakin when they spoke through Artoo was no longer causing him Mustafar-related stress. 

He missed them terribly.

While the journey was long and exhausting, he did finally make it to Coruscant. 

The first few days had been a flurry of dodging Stormtroopers (as they seemed to be called now) doing patrols, until he got low enough in Coruscant’s underground that the Imperial presence was barely felt. Obi-Wan had absently wondered if the local populace was even aware there had been a shift in power.  As it turned out, they very much were. Obi-Wan listened as he walked around the depths of the giant city and was horrified to learn about all the atrocities being committed. The disappearances, the arrests, the tortures, and the deaths the Empire was carrying out, all in the name of Law and Order. 

It was mainly non-humans they were persecuting. Obi-Wan had witnessed multiple occasions of Stormtroopers harassing civilians, verbally and physically, for no discernible reason. He and Artoo had mastered the skill of being a huge distraction, creating noise and destroying property, to give the victims time to run and escape the troopers. Each time, Obi-Wan’s heart hammered, hoping beyond anything that these troopers didn't recognise him. So far, they’d been lucky. Obi-Wan had kept the hood up on his jacket whenever it happened, and once the victims had escaped, he and Artoo would do the same, zipping down side-streets and vanishing up and down ladders until they lost the troopers. They helped where they could, but there was only so much one man and a droid could do on their own. 

Coruscant needed the Jedi now, more than ever…but there was nothing to be done about that. The people didn't even know Palpatine was a Sith; he’d heard nothing, not even the smallest whisper in the darkest corners of the lower levels. Palpatine had done everything perfectly and now he had complete control with complete secrecy. It would be impressive if it weren’t so horrifying.

He’d also stopped by Dex’s once, just to check he was still okay.

Obi-Wan had stood on a nearby corner, wrapped in his dark jacket and ragged clothes, watching the diner as people came and went, resisting the urge to go in. It just wasn’t safe. He completely trusted Dex. However, he did not trust anyone that could be hanging around his diner. It wasn’t worth the risk. As far as he could discern, Dex was fine; he looked a little more ragged about the edges, but he was still working and smiling and _alive_ , and that was enough for now.

Obi-Wan lurked around Coruscant for a good two weeks before he received that terrifying message from Padmé. Tuskens. He had called Padmé back the moment he’d read her message. He’d been horrified to hear that Padmé had been hurt, relieved that no-one else had been and beyond thankful that Anakin hadn’t murdered anyone. That would have been a real set-back. Obi-Wan suspected it would be a set-back that even Padmé, in her infinite kindness, would not be able to look past. 

Then Anakin had appeared and turned on him.

Obi-Wan had hung up the call feeling confused and angry. He put it aside and released it to the Force. There was no sense in worrying about it. He’d then spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Coruscant doing just that. Would it have been different if he’d been there? Could he have done something to help? Was Anakin angry at him or what had happened? Both? 

Artoo had suddenly whistled in confusion as they walked, drawing Obi-Wan’s attention back to the real world. Obi-Wan frowned at the droid who then used one of his forward arms to point to a bright display hanging over one of the freeways. 

It was a picture of Padmé. It was framed from her shoulders up while she wore a smile and one of her oft-used Senatorial headdresses; the metallic gold one that was shaped like a pot or upside down wine glass that drew her hair up so it almost looked as though she had a halo above her head. A similar necklace was clasped about her neck, framed by the high purple collar of her barely visible jacket.

It was a lovely picture.

Obi-Wan frowned. Why…? The image changed, proclaiming that Senator Amidala’s funeral was to be held the next day at Monument Plaza. 

Well that was interesting.

“What a terrible and sudden death. She seemed so healthy yesterday,” Obi-Wan said, completely deadpan, before turning to the droid. “Shall we check that out, Artoo?”

Artoo whistled in the affirmative and they both took a moment to read the whole poster as it alternated between Padmé’s face and the information. Artoo suggested they find an out of the way location to watch from. Given that the sign said that Emperor Palpatine himself would perform the eulogy undoubtably meant there would be a strong military presence, so Obi-Wan had agreed with him.

Padmé’s funeral was the most surreal experience of Obi-Wan’s life. Her face was plastered absolutely everywhere: on posters, plaques, banners, and a variety of holo-screens floated about eerily. Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel Padmé would find this utterly fascinating.

Artoo and Obi-Wan had managed to find a rooftop to perch on well away from the actual Plaza, but not so far that they could not hear what was going on. They’d spotted a few rooftop patrols of troopers, as well as swarms of them on the ground, so both of them kept out of sight as much as possible. Artoo sat in such a way that he appeared to be a broken, discarded droid, and Obi-Wan crouched down low so only his eyes peeked over the railing to the scene below.

He watched the service with rapt interest. Palpatine made a grand speech about her unwavering support for him and all the good she had done for the galaxy as a whole. “A true defender of the people.” He then spun a tale of betrayal, once again framing the Jedi for things they hadn’t done, and reaffirmed his commitment to hunting down every last one to bring them to justice. Finally, he announced a holiday to be made in Amidala’s name, a day for celebrating “a powerful woman and celebrating her work for turning a failing Republic into a strong Empire.”

Obi-Wan had never heard such a pile of bantha-shit in his life. Anyone who had spent any time with Padmé would know what a farce this was; it was practically spitting in the face of everything she had ever done.

The crowd appeared to love it, cheering in all the right places, though Obi-Wan thought it might have more to do with the oppressive numbers of Stormtroopers than any real feelings toward what he was saying.

When Palpatine finally finished his speech, finishing on some spiel about unity, Obi-Wan spotted the congregation of Senators standing demurely in Palpatine’s shadow.

“Bail…” Obi-Wan murmured his eyes latching onto his friend’s tall shape. Bail’s eyes were fixed forward, staring past Palpatine and into the crowd. His shoulders were taught with tension and occasionally shaking as he clearly held back tears.

Obi-Wan looked away.

His attention retuned as he finally noticed what Bail had been looking at; a coffin resting in front of the podium Palpatine had been standing at. There was definitely a body in there. Covered in cloth and Padmé’s clothes, but still a body. They’d even managed to make it look pregnant. Obi-Wan had never felt so utterly outraged in his life. How _dare_ they treat her in this way. Palpatine was despicable in every way Obi-Wan could think of.  Obi-Wan watched as a congregation of droids lifted the coffin and escorted it away to be buried somewhere. He could feel in his heart that it was probably somewhere gaudy and dramatic. 

Sick to his stomach, he and Artoo left their hiding place. There was nothing else for him to see here. It was a mockery of Padmé and her work, and a blatant trap for any of her supporters. He released the churning emotions to the Force, but they continued to plague his afternoon like a strange haze. Anger mixed with outrage mixed with the sinking horror of having _watched his friends funeral_. Yes, he knew it was fake, but it was just so…off-putting. He wasted the next couple of days staying in an abandoned room slightly closer to the Temple, his plan to slowly work his way closer going exactly as he had hoped.

Then Padmé and Anakin had called him again. They sat side by side with the twins on their laps, all four of them appearing to be happy and well, and looking picture perfect. Obi-Wan had signalled Artoo to take a snapshot of it for him. He wanted to keep that for…reasons.

He’d then been completely surprised at Anakin’s apology. Obi-Wan usually didn’t get those from Anakin unless it had been a disastrous mistake. He’d never gotten one for just a hurtful comment. It was heartwarming; Anakin was growing and learning. Padmé was an excellent influence—Obi-Wan had no doubt that she had had a hand in it all. He’d then relayed the funeral to her. She’d found it as interesting as he’d thought she would and Anakin looked distinctly displeased about the whole thing.

Then he’d heard an unexpected loud bang from further up the hall.

He had hung up the call (with a _legitimate_ excuse to avoid the Conversation) and Artoo and he had scooted to the opposite side of the room, lurking beneath a window and ready to escape out of it if need be. He could hear the heavy tread of booted feet—definitely Stormtroopers then. It sounded as though they were in the room next door, searching for something.

Well, Obi-Wan was not about to wait around to find out more. He refused to be used as a bargaining piece, which is _exactly_ what he would be if Sidious ever got his filthy hands on Obi-Wan. Carefully and quietly, he unlatched the window, a large, spacious thing, and yanked it open.

“You first, Artoo,” Obi-Wan whispered and gestured out the window.

Artoo hummed in agreement and activated his thrusters before rising up and out the window. Obi-Wan slipped out behind him, sitting on the edge of the glass, eyeing the best way down. He was a few floors up, nothing he couldn’t land if he needed to, but that would be far to conspicuous. It took time, and a few near misses, but he managed to climb down the building without too much hassle. Artoo had sat waiting on the ground, swearing at strangers aggressively. It was an unusual tactic, but it stopped anyone looking in Obi-Wan’s direction. Once on the ground they both took off into the streets again.

After a week of laying low, checking and double checking for a tail, Obi-Wan made an attempt at the Temple. He and Artoo took a winding, circuitous path up to it, carefully watching they were in the clear. They both snuck down a drain in an empty alley and followed it up and into the bowels of the Temple. He’d not used the entrance often, mainly in his youth when sneaking out with other Padawans, but this path was one of those public secrets within the Jedi. 

After some time in the drain he left Artoo alone to keep watch (and because the droid would not be able to fit through a few spaces he was going to traverse tonight). Artoo wished him good luck and Obi-Wan unhinged a grated off tunnel leading up and into the Temple proper. Obi-Wan crept through the dark tunnel, his shields pulled tightly around him like a protective cloak. 

He could still feel the pain and terror and death resonating through the building, buffeting against him, shields or no. It was worse than he remembered.

He moved slowly, pausing every few minutes to listen for movement or sound. So far the temple had been near empty with only the occasional footsteps passing over him where he was hidden in the tunnel. There weren’t many guards in the Temple, but there were certainly _some_. 

After a mad dash through the Room of a Thousand Fountains, some vent crawling, and a slow climb up a maintenance tunnel, followed by more vents, Obi-Wan made it to the main hub. He sat in total silence for an hour or so, just meditating, listening and cautiously feeling out into the Force to make sure there wasn’t anyone nearby. When he felt it was safe, Obi-Wan crawled out from the air duct panel and set to work. 

The power was thankfully still connected and it all switched on without issue. Each of the panels in the room lit up, casting a ghostly blue light on everything in the room. He tried not to think about the last time he was here.

Slowly, the computers all booted up, ran through their checks and decided that they were working well enough to function. Then the passcode screen came up. 

He’d locked the entire system down after his last visit, before he and Yoda had left. Neither of them wanted anyone, Jedi, Sith, or civilian, to be able to see what was in these computers. If the wrong code was entered more than once, everything was to be wiped. So much history. So many secrets. 

Obi-Wan entered in his password in and everything folded open before him.

“There we go,” he muttered to the empty room.

Immediately, alerts appeared, warning him of the fact that the transmission tower was inoperative due to severe damage. That certainly explained why his warning was no longer being sent out to warn Jedi away. Evidently Sidious had not wanted to destroy the computers—locked out without Obi-Wan’s passcode—but had wanted the transmission gone.

Obi-Wan slowly dismissed all the alerts, and there were a lot; nearly a year without maintenance or input had the whole system extremely confused and sending off alert after alert about how nothing was working. Finally, he found a way around the messages and into the recordings. He pulled up the most recent recording. 

It was nearly a year ago now. 

He reached out to hit play.

Obi-Wan paused.

His hand hovered over the button.

As much as it had been what he had been working toward now for months, now that he was here, he was terrified. Coming here and watching the deaths of everyone he’d ever know had been awful the first time. He desperately didn’t want to see it again.  But he had to know. He had to know about Anakin. He had to know if Palpatine really had such control over his friend and if….what if it truly had been Anakin? What then? Could Obi-Wan ever go back? Would he have to tell Padmé that he’d lied? What about the twins?

He shook his head. None of this was worth worrying about. He just had to…press the button. 

Taking a deep breath in he pushed down on his feelings and the switch.

It was definitely Anakin on the screen before him. Every detail about his physical body was perfect, though his eyes were strangely glassy and Obi-Wan immediately noticed what he hadn’t last time. The body, while correct, moved completely wrong. He walked differently, smoother than Anakin’s usual walk and the combat style was all wrong. Instead of using Form V as Anakin did, this person was using bits and pieces of everything and a few things he didn’t recognise.

He watched Anakin’s lips move and frowned before doing something he hadn’t done last time. He turned on the sound. Softly, so as not to give away that he was here, but just enough to hear the words coming from Anakin.

“Troopers, take the east corridor,” Anakin said, his voice flat. “CY-6383, take a few men and get the door down.”

Yessirs echoed back at him as the Clones did as instructed.

He heard a footstep. He felt a twitch in the Force. Obi-Wan paused the recordings and slipped a hand beneath his jacket to rest on his lightsaber.

Obi-Wan heard a familiar sharp, snap-hiss behind him. “Don’t move,” a voice said levelly from somewhere in the room. 

He knew that voice.

Obi-Wan remained still but called out, “Ahsoka?”

There was a moment of silence, followed by quick footsteps as the young Togruta stepped into view.

“Obi-Wan…?” Ahsoka breathed out, her eyes wide with wonder and amazement. She took a hesitant step forward before pressing her lips together, seemingly unsure of herself.

Obi-Wan smiled, opened his arms and said, “Come here, young one.”

Ahsoka crumpled before his eyes, smiling brightly while sobbing uncontrollably, before she threw herself into his arms. “I’m so glad you’re oka—okay,” Ahsoka hiccuped, falling to her knees, wrapping her long arms around Obi-Wan’s torso, and shoving her face into his chest. It was an awkward position, with him seated and her half thrown on top of him, but he wrapped his arms solidly around her and held her in place.

Obi-Wan smiled and felt tears beading in his own eyes, murmuring a soft, “Same here, Ahsoka. It is… wonderful to see you.”

“I didn't know if any of you were okay, and it’s been so long… and I thought…” Ahsoka sniffed and trailed off, her hands curling tighter around him.

She choked back a few more cries, sniffed, and pulled away, standing back up and grinning down at him through watery eyes. Ahsoka had certainly grown, and must be as tall as he was now. The tips and ends of her mortals had lengthened, curling proudly about her head and her face had also lost some of its baby shape, now longer and more defined. She was becoming a stunning young woman. 

Ahsoka stood before him, smiling through her tears, strong and alive and unharmed, wearing the plainest looking clothes he had ever seen her in. “Never thought I’d ever see _you_ crying,” Ahsoka said softly. “Or without a beard.”

“It made me too recognisable,” he said before he released his emotions to the Force. “I’m sorry about the silence, Ahsoka, none of us knew how we could contact you; we definitely would have if we were able,” Obi-Wan said, Force pulling a chair over from across the room and nodding at it.

Ahsoka took the seat, her eyes brightening at his statement. “Us? Is Skyguy with you? I heard he was dead…”

“Here? No,” Obi-Wan explained. “Safe in the Outer Rim with Padmé and their children? Yes.”

Ahsoka’s eyes widened as she made a very self-satisfied face. “I kriffing knew it.”

He laughed. “Ahsoka, everyone knew it.”

“Anakin was never any good at subtle,” she said it with clear fondness and a wry smile on her face.

Obi-Wan had to nod in agreement, the smile sneaking onto his own expression. 

“So children? As in more than one?” Ahsoka asked, leaning forward.

“Yes, Padmé had twins. Luke and Leia. They are both beautiful and happy little things,” He said warmly. He missed them both terribly. It had been so long since he’d last seen them. A fact he knew was his own damn fault. It was just… the longer he stayed away, the weirder he felt about returning.

“Do you have any holos of them?” Ahsoka asked. 

“I have one holo of the four of them. Artoo snapped it for me during a recent conversation.” Obi-Wan started digging in his bag, pulling bits and pieces out and placing them on the bench. “Force, I know it’s in here somewhere… Ah!”

Grinning, he sat up and handed Ahsoka the small holo-projector. She switched it on.

“Oh. Oh no,” Ahsoka breathed, staring down at the holo. “They’re so adorable! Look at their tiny little faces! Padmé and Anakin look well too.” She sighed, smiling absently at it. “Why aren’t you with them then? What on earth are you doing back here on Coruscant?”

“I didn’t want to… intrude.”

She frowned slightly at him, handing the holo-projector back to him and asking, “Why Coruscant? Why are you sneaking into the Temple like a _moron_?”

Obi-Wan put it in his pocket and raised his eyebrows at her, looking her up and down; she was one to talk.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at him. “I’m here _helping people_. I came here first to see what happened but _someone_ locked all the computers with a code I couldn’t break, and now I’m here to catch any lost Jedi and point them to safety and the Rebellion.”

“You have your own rebellion?” Obi-Wan asked, smiling. “Congratulations, you must have inherited more from your Grandmaster than I had previously thought.”

Ahsoka frowned at him. “Why? How many rebellions have you been in?”

“Probably…at least five?” Obi-Wan said. “I’ll be honest, I’ve lost track over the years.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Ahsoka laughed. “Now. What are you doing here?”

“I came back to re-investigate the security feeds,” he said as Ahsoka finally turned to look at the screen Obi-Wan had been looking at. “There was something I needed to confirm—"

“Is…that Anakin?” Ahsoka said slowly.

Damn. He used his most gentle voice in the hopes of cutting this off, “Ahsoka—”

“No!” Ahsoka cried, jumping out of her chair and pulling her ‘saber back out. “No! You said he was _okay!_ He—he wouldn’t _do that!_ He wouldn’t— Are you with Palpatine? Is  _Anakin_ with Palpatine?” Her eyes had gone as wide as a moon, staring at him in fear and disbelief. 

“Ahsoka, please listen. Neither of us is with Palpatine,” Obi-Wan held his hands up placatingly as he spoke. “Sit down and let me show you something.”

She looked as though she was going to cry some more.

“Please.”

Ahsoka looked away from him, as if in pain, her blue eyes refusing to look at him or the screen. “Fine,” she said after a long moment of silence. She sat back down but held her lightsaber hilt firmly in her hand.

Obi-Wan understood entirely.

“I’m going to play the recording,” Obi-Wan said slowly. “I want you to watch Anakin. See if there’s anything wrong. Okay?”

Ahsoka swallowed and nodded.

Obi-Wan played the footage. It pained him immensely to watch it again. Watch Anakin storm in and kill everyone in his home, not pausing for thought or the pleading cries of the Jedi. The footage cut from camera to camera, following him and his troops in their path through the Temple. The 501st followed blindly, doing as Anakin bid them, gunning down everyone in their path. Obi-Wan could feel bile rise in his throat and a cold hand wrap around his heart, knowing how close it could have been to a reality. He could still feel the echoes of their deaths…

“Okay. Stop,” Ahsoka said weakly.

Obi-Wan paused the footage, exhaled, and released his churning thoughts to the Force, feeling calm wash over him again.

“It’s not him,” Ahsoka said thoughtfully. “How he fights is not Anakin's style at all. It’s too… graceful. He spoke wrong, too. He called every member of the 501st ‘Trooper’ or by their ID number. He knows every one of them by name and I don’t think I ever heard him call them anything _other_ then their chosen names. It’s not Anakin.”

Obi-Wan nodded slowly.

“How though? It still looks exactly like Anakin?” Ahsoka asked quickly, eyes darting back and forth from the screen to Obi-Wan.

“Were you aware that Palpatine is a Sith Lord? He was the Darth Sidious we were looking for.”

A long silence.

“That two-faced motherfucker,” Ahsoka whispered in absolute horror. She stared off into the middle distance for some time, thinking furiously. After a few minutes of silence she refocused on Obi-Wan. “Force, that makes so much sense. But how…what does that have to do with Anak—did he pull a Rako Hardeen?”

“No,” Obi-Wan replied, “that is very much Anakin’s body, with, as far as I can tell, Sidious piloting.”

Ahsoka scrunched up her face. “Ew. That’s…so wrong. How could he do that?”

Obi-Wan sighed and clasped his hands together nervously. “Sidious has evidently been playing the long game with Anakin in mind as his next apprentice—”

“Anakin would _never_ —!”

Obi-Wan held up a hand, silencing her in an instant. He admired the hope in her voice.

“The Chancellor spent years grooming Anakin and preparing him with the mindset he would need to become a Sith. I think he also found a way into Anakin’s head, past his shields and is somehow able to... influence him. Being completely fair to Anakin, a lot of his poor decisions are his alone, but what happened here at the Temple is not one of them. He did however, choose to fall.”

Ahsoka blinked. “What?”

Obi-Wan sighed. “He’s fine now, but Anakin did fall for a time. He did choose Sidious. The Temple was Sidious’ work, but Anakin let him in, whether he's aware of it or not—”

“I mean…” Ahsoka tried. “I always knew Anakin was greyer than your average Jedi, but I'd never thought he would ever truly fall.”

“I didn't think so either, my dear, and yet here we all are,” Obi-Wan said. He still wondered where he went wrong.

“Tell me the whole story,” she demanded. “The whole thing. Everything you know.”

“Are you sure?”

Ashoka nodded her face set in complete seriousness. “Yes.”

Obi-Wan sighed and began to retell the story of what had happened to them after the Clones turned and how Anakin fell. He told her about Mustafar, that he’d talked Anakin around from the Dark Side, before the three of them escaped the Empire to the Outer Rim, staying briefly with Anakin’s family, before purchasing an old farm and the eventual birth of the twins. He told her about how Anakin was managing himself, happy, and loving being a father, how great a mother Padmé was, and how sweet the children are.

Ahsoka was silent for a while after she had listened attentively to his whole story. She stared into nothing while she seemingly thought about it all.

“Why don’t you go home?” she asked finally.

“ _This_ is my home,” Obi-Wan returned. This was the only home he had ever had, and now it was a cold, empty tomb filled with the psychic echoes of death and destruction.

Ahsoka pressed her lips together. “It sounds to me like Anakin and Padmé are your home now. Why not go?”

That was a question he was still asking himself. He didn’t know where he stood with them anymore. He knew he was being a coward by avoiding them when either of them had that particular look in their eye. He was terrified of what they wanted to discuss with him. Anakin had said that he loved Obi-Wan, but he had also said that the ki—day he left was a misunderstanding. Obi-Wan didn’t know what he wanted or what they wanted and it was just so much easier to ignore all of it.

The longer he stayed away, the harder it was to go back.

“Obi-Wan?” Ahsoka pressed.

“My apologies. I was distracted.” Obi-Wan pressed those feelings aside, letting them go.

“Stop _doing that!_ ” Ahsoka bit out, turning on Obi-Wan suddenly.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Doing what?”

“Ignoring your feelings, letting them go to the Force,” she returned. "You've done it like five times since I've been here!"

He leant back and crossed his arms. That was surely an exaggeration. What had gotten into her? “I’m a Jedi,” he informed her, “we must remain impartial. You _know_ that. I am—”

“No! _You’re_ ignoring your feelings entirely!” She stared at him derisively. “The Jedi are _gone_ , Obi-Wan. _You_ know that.” He opened his mouth to reply, pushing away the icy feeling that settled in his stomach as she said it. She immediately held up her hand, cutting him of, “No, you listen. They’re _gone_ for a reason. As much as I hate to admit it, Barriss was right; we lost our way, we allowed ourselves to be manipulated by the Dark Side—by this Darth Sidious— _willingly or not_. We were not what we should have been.” Obi-Wan was floored by the wisdom he saw in her eyes and the conviction in her voice. “If I’ve learnt anything in the years away from the Temple, is that emotion is what makes us feel alive, what brings meaning and flavour to the universe, what helps you survive and fuels your desire to help others. You can’t keep clinging to a way of life that is gone and is _destructive_ to your wellbeing, Obi-Wan.”

Silence filled the room and Obi-Wan could only stare at her.

She sighed, placing her hand over his where it rested on the console edge. “I want you to survive in this new universe. I want you to be happy, and you can’t be when all you ever are is cold and calm. As much as Anakin got wrong, he did have it right. Attachment and love is the way forward now.”

Obi-Wan pulled his hand away, unwilling to face what she had said, countering with, “Anakin fell because of attachment.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at him. “According to _your_ story, Anakin fell to _manipulation_ and _fear_ , he was _saved_ by his attachment to you and Padmé.”

“From a certain point of view,” he conceded.

“ _Fuck_ your point of view shit, Obi-Wan!” she exploded.

“ _Ahsoka!”_

“No. You need to stop letting a group that is _gone_ dictate the rest of your life! I’m not a Jedi, but I do _just as much_ good work. I help people. I make a difference. Emotions or not.” All the air left her in a rush, and she deflated before his eyes. “Please. You’ll never be happy if you don’t, and probably kill yourself on some fool crusade against Sidious, and destroy the rest of us in the process. I _love you_ , Obi-Wan, and I love Anakin and Padmé and Rex and Master Plo and all my rebels and a pair of twins I’ve never met, and that’s _not a bad thing._ ”

Obi-Wan scowled, “I don’t know who taught you to be so mouthy.”

“Mmhm,” Ahsoka said, ignoring him, “ _I think_ you’re attached and you're scared of it.”

Well. That one was much too close to home. He was done. Obi-Wan locked the computer again, setting up new defences and shutting it all down.

“Obi-Wan…” Ahsoka tried softly, her orange hand coming to rest over his where it worked at the keys. “I didn’t mean to push.”

Obi-Wan couldn't look at her, but he let her hand remain on his this time.

He sighed. “I’m well aware of what I’m running from. Thank you.”

“Why won’t you go back?”

He looked over to her. “It’s complicated.”

Ahsoka looked skeptical and levelled him a stare; it was a good one too. She would have been formidable in a negotiation. Perhaps she still might be.

She gave up. “Come on, finish sealing that back up and come with me. I have someplace you’ll love.”

“We have to get Artoo first. I left him guarding the entrance.”

Ahsoka perked right up, her whole face lighting happily. “Artooie’s here? Awesome. Okay, we can collect him and then go.”

Obi-Wan finished closing down the systems and waited for the room to stop buzzing with electricity before he considered it truly safe. He was not taking any chances with anyone stumbling into the Temple’s systems. There was much more still hidden on there besides incriminating footage of Anakin.

Obi-Wan followed Ahsoka’s lead as she followed a similar path out to his one in. They moved quietly and only paused occasionally at an unexpected sound or two. Their final run through the fountains was unimpeded before they vanished down the tunnel Obi-Wan had entered through. 

Artoo greeted them happily, beeping some very choice words at Ahsoka’s arrival.

“I missed you too, Artooie!” Ahsoka laughed, placing her hand on his dome and petting it. “Come on, I’ve got somewhere safe for us to go.”

They followed the large drain for some time, much further than their earlier trip, before Ahsoka indicated the exit. She went first, climbing up stealthy before poking her head up above ground, deeming it was safe, and disappearing through the hole. Artoo followed second, blasting up and out, with Obi-Wan climbing quickly after him.

It was raining.

Large, heavy droplets fell from the sky, pelting them incessantly until everything smelt of rain and wet wool. They continued to follow Ahsoka through the dark streets, all three of them on high alert, occasionally ducking behind a dumpster when they heard footsteps. 

“Where are we going?” Obi-Wan asked a few minutes later, now thoroughly soaked to his skin and shivering.

“Can’t say until we get there. It’s warm and dry though,” Ahsoka assured him.

The three of them continued sneaking through the dimming light, running into fewer and fewer people as everyone dashed home to avoid the danger of the night-time patrols. Ahsoka led him finally to a broken down door hidden behind a dumpster.

“Really living it up on Coruscant,” Obi-Wan laughed.

Ahsoka smirked at him. “You’ll be eating those words in a few minutes.”

They climbed stair-case after stair-case, crept through a few connected hallways, and then ascended even more stair-cases. Finally, they exited through a door which said ‘Staff Access Only’ on the door as she opened it. 

This was much fancier; the carpeted hallways were lush and clean, with walls the colour of snow. Ahsoka motioned for him to hurry and they arrived at a door marked ‘19272’. Pulling out some keys from her clothes, Ahsoka swiftly unlocked the door and pulled Obi-Wan inside, Artoo gliding in swiftly after.

The lights switched on and Obi-Wan was greeted by a beautiful apartment. There was a large open lounge with two plush couches, piled high with cushions with blankets draped over the top. A large black rug decorated the soft carpet, breaking up the whiteness of it all. There was an open kitchen to their left, long benches with stone tops and a wide variety of cooking utensils, all of which were in excellent condition. Everything was a tasteful variation on black, purple and grey.

“Eating those words yet?” Ahsoka asked.

Obi-Wan smiled. “Consider them eaten.”

“Excellent,” Ahsoka said. “Now, time for a shower and some dry clothes. You want to go first?”

“No, no. You first, I can wait,” Obi-Wan replied.

Ahsoka looked at him for a long moment before she shrugged. “If you insist. Make yourself at home. There’s leftovers in the kitchen.”

Ahsoka disappeared into one of the four doors lining the lounge room before she quickly reappeared, towels and clothes in hand, before entering one of the other doors. Obi-Wan assumed that one was the bathroom.

Obi-Wan stood in the centre of the lounge at a loss of what to do with himself. Artoo whistled appreciatively at the whole space, stating that this is how a person really lives. Obi-Wan smiled at him. “You’ve been far too spoiled by Padmé, Artoo.”

Artoo spat something unintelligible back at him and rolled further in. Obi-Wan decided to check out what was in the fridge.

“I got your message, Ahsoka,” called a familiar voice from the entryway. “What could possibly be so import—Obi-Wan!” Bail Organa stepped into the room, his deep blue robes sweeping as he walked, a blazing smile on his face. He looked well, aside from the clear lines of stress around his eyes and mouth.

“Bail!” Obi-Wan greeted with equal enthusiasm. “How have you been?”

Bail strode across the distance between them and wrapped a strong hand around Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “I have been very busy, as I’m sure you can imagine. Come, let us sit.”

“I’m soaked through, Bail. I don’t think you want me sitting on the couch,” Obi-Wan said.

“Nonsense, I do not mind at all. Sit,” Bail pressed, the hand on his shoulder firm and guiding. Obi-Wan didn't argue.

They sat on the couch and turned inward toward one another.

“So…have it you heard the news about Padmé?” Bail asked soberly, eyes dark and sad.

“Oh, Bail, no, Padmé is perfectly—”

He sighed. “That she was. It was a shock to us all as well, we had hoped she would reappear unscathed but—”

“Bail—” Obi-Wan tried louder.

He just continued. “—it seems it was for naught. I don’t believe what the Emperor is saying, but—”

“Bail, look!” Obi-Wan said, fishing the holo-projector from his pocket again, switching it on and putting the picture in front of Bail’s face. “She’s fine.”

That stopped Bail in his tracks. He blinked for a moment, staring at the photo. His eyes widened and glanced between the image and Obi-Wan, a question lingering in his eyes.

“Padmé is alive,” Obi-Wan confirmed, his voice gentle. “I can call her right now if you would like.”

“I—yes. I would like that very much,” Bail said shakily. “Is it safe?”

“Artoo knows what he’s doing,” Obi-Wan said, smiling at the droid and beckoning him over.

“So, Skywalker is the father?” Bail asked conversationally.

Obi-Wan paused. “You didn’t know?”

“I certainly suspected.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Anakin and Padmé were the worst kept secret on Coruscant.”

“I would have to agree,” Bail returned.

Artoo whistled, signalling that he was calling through to Tatooine. After a nearly a minute the connection clicked through and Padmé appeared on screen with something that looked suspiciously like mashed fruit smeared across her face.

“Hello Ob—Bail!” Padmé cried out, leaning forward on her knees. “Gods it is good to see you again! I’ve missed you.”

“You have absolutely no idea how good it is to see you, Padmé,” Bail sniffed with bright eyes. “We thought you were dead.”

“Oh, Bail, I’m so sorry.” Padmé tried on a smile. “If it helps, it was a matter of Galactic security?”

“How so?” Bail asked, eyes still shimmering in the light.

“Sidious wanted my husband to join him on the Dark Side and help rule his Empire—“

Bail’s eyebrows rose. “Hold on a moment. Husband? Sidious?”

“Ah,” Padmé smiled, her voice gone high and nervous, “well, Anakin is my husband—”

“For how long?” Bail had his arms folded over his chest and the voice of a man who had caught his child sneaking out a window at night.

Padmé looked terribly guilty. “Uh. Since before the war?”

“Were _you_ invited?” Bail asked, totally scandalised, tuning to face Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan had to press down every instinct to laugh, instead replying calmly with, “No, I wasn’t.”

Padmé looked between them in mixed horror and confusion, her eyes flickering off camera as if trying to spot her salvation. Anakin was evidently not in the room with her.

“It…you know it was _meant_ to be _secret,_ yeah?” Padmé tried, holding her arms up placatingly.

Bail and Obi-Wan just looked at each other before bursting into hysterics. 

“Rude,” Padmé said, though she was smiling. “Fine. You’ve made your point.”

After a few more moments of idiotic giggling from the pair of them, they managed to settle again, and Bail refocused. “Sorry. Galactic security. Sidus?”

“Palpatine is a Sith Lord. Darth Sidious,” Obi-Wan clarified.

“Sith…oh, Zigoola?” Bail asked, frowning and turning to look at Obi-Wan.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan confirmed.

“Damn,” Bail swore. “Okay. Kriff. That’s pretty important. I need to…spread the word. We’re tackling this all wrong if that’s the case.” Bail looked back to the shimmering image of Padmé. “I will let Mon know you’re okay, but beyond that we will keep your secret. I must go tell her and the others about Palpatine.”

“Bail,” Padmé said, grinning, “you’ve started a rebellion without me!”

“Technically you were here when we started it,” Bail smiled, voice light but eyes showing the depth of worry within in. The news had shocked him to his core. It was fair enough; when Obi-Wan looked at the whole situation it filled him with dread and hopelessness.

“I will leave you in Obi-Wan’s capable hands, and I hope to be able to speak with you again in the future,” Bail said, standing up from the couch. “Thank you for this information, Obi-Wan, and tell Ahsoka I will catch her another time.”

Obi-Wan nodded and watched as Bail swept out the door. He wished they had had more time to talk, but he understood that Bail _needed_ to pass on that intelligence. He hoped he would be able to see him again soon.

“Ahsoka is there?” Padmé’s voice distracted him from his thoughts.

“She’s just drying off. It was raining heavily on the way here,” Obi-Wan explained, turning back to Padmé. “I’m sure she would love to see Anakin—”

“Of course! I’ll go see if I can get him up here. He’s just outside with the twins.” Padmé lowered her voice, whispering conspiratorially, “ _They like the sand. I’ll b_ e right back.”

She was not right back. Obi-Wan sat on the couch for a few long minutes, staring at an empty hologram, Artoo beeping at him in annoyance.

“Hang up if you want Artoo,” Obi-Wan said. “They’ll call back.”

Artoo whistled in agreement, disconnected the call and rolled off to recharge. They’d been running on and off for a few days so he hadn’t had any consistent time to refill his battery.  Obi-Wan used the few moments to relax back into the cushions. 

“Hey, Obi. Bail turned up yet?” Ahsoka asked, appearing back in the lounge now dressed in something much less damp and much more floral.

“Bail has been and gone. Nice pyjamas.” 

“Cute hey?” Ahsoka grinned, “Bail is an excellent provider.”

“What is this place?”

“Well you see, Bail and Breha have this deal that they’re allowed to see other people when they’re apart, so this is his mistress’ place. Or rather, my place.” Ahsoka grinned. “It’s a sneaky way for me to be able to see him for rebel business without raising suspicion.”

“I see.” That was some new information about Bail. He…wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “Very clever.”

Ahsoka smiled. “He certainly thinks so. Where’d he go anyway?”

“We told him about Palpatine. I think he’s gone to spread the word.”

“Good. It’s what I was going to tell him about.” Ahsoka flopped down on the couch beside him, stretching herself out along it, clearly relaxed in the environment. “We?” she questioned.

“Oh. Padmé. Bail wasn’t catching on when I said she was alive. Artoo called her for us. They’ll probably call back soon, I think she went to fetch Anakin and got distracted,” Obi-Wan said. “Anyway, how are you, Ahsoka?”

Ahsoka gave him a crooked smile. “Oh, you know, trying to overthrow a cruel regime—”

“Besides that,” Obi-Wan said warmly. “How are _you?_ ”

Ahsoka tucked her knees into her chest. “There’s not much else to it. I spend most days keeping an eye on the Temple for any more Jedi stragglers—you’re the first in a month—and helping Bail organise things here and there. I’ve been thinking about going out into space to help the Rebellion out on the front line.”

Obi-Wan could see the conviction in her eyes. The burning desire to help and fix everything that had gone wrong in the last year sizzled behind every word…but she was letting herself get too deep. Obi-Wan had been there before. Thrown himself so far into a cause that there was no time for anything else.

Artoo whistled brightly before scooting across the room from the corner he’d been charging in, coming to rest in front of Obi-Wan. A call was coming back through.

Obi-Wan accepted it and was greeted by Anakin grinning at him on the screen.

“Hey, Obi-Wan!” he greeted brightly. “Padmé said you had something to tell me?”

Obi-Wan smiled fondly. “Close. I have someone here who wants to see you.” He moved aside and allowed Ahsoka to slide up next to him.

“Hey, Skyguy!” she smiled broadly at him, the sharp tips of her teeth just visible between her lips.

“Ahsoka!” Anakin cried out, jumping forward in the chair slightly. “You’re okay! How are you?”

Ahsoka laughed. “I’m fine, Anakin. How are you?”

“I’m good, tired, but good. Twins are a handful.”

“Two, handfuls, you could say,” Ahsoka joked.

Anakin grinned back at her. “True. Do you want to meet one?”

Ahsoka shimmied forward on her chair, “Yes! Obviously!”

Obi-Wan revelled in their lit up faces, both rapt to see each other again. Ahsoka’s eyes were bright with light and love for her old Master, and Anakin was visibly vibrating with excitement. They really did adore each other. 

Anakin disappeared for a moment before they heard Padmé yell from off-screen, “Anakin! Stop floating Luke around! Carry him like a normal person!”

“He’s fine,” they heard Anakin return. “Ahsoka wants to see him.”

“Ahsoka!” 

Padmé quickly appeared on screen, hair loose and smiling broadly at the pair of them. “Hello, Ahsoka!”

“Hey, Padmé.” Ahsoka smiled. “Is Anakin misusing the Force and levitating the babies around?”

Padmé rolled her eyes, before they flickered off camera to where they could only assume Anakin was. “Yes. He is.”

“It’s perfectly safe,” Anakin said, sitting down with Luke in his arms. “I’m careful.”

Padmé just hummed at him. It appeared to be an ongoing discussion.

“Is that Luke?” Ahsoka asked, leaning into the screen, staring at the child in Anakin’s grasp.

“Yup! Leia was being fussy so she’s been put to bed.” Anakin pressed a kiss to Luke’s head of hair. “Who’s that?” Anakin said, trying to point Luke in the direction of the camera.

“Hello!” Ahsoka cooed, a dopey smile on her face. “Hello tiny Luke! Who’s a tiny cute baby!? It’s you! You’re a tiny cute baby!”

Luke’s eyes finally found the image, his eyes lit up and he giggled happily at Ahsoka.

“Oh no, he’s _adorable,_ ” Ahsoka breathed out, resting her head in her hands. “Oh I want to cuddle him!”

“You should come visit," Padmé said, her whole demeanour perking up. “We’d love to have you visit! Obi-Wan is _very overdue_ to come home.”

“You know I—” Obi-Wan started, hoping to somewhat avoid this conversation.

“No. Shush. Ahsoka, don’t let him hang up,” Padmé cut in.

Ahsoka, interest piqued at the conflict, sent Obi-Wan a sharp smile. 

Obi-Wan felt his stomach drop and his entire body flushed cold. He wasn’t ready for this conversation. He never wanted this conversation. He would much prefer to live in limbo for the rest of his life.

“Okay,” Padmé said in her calmest, most authoritative Senatorial voice. “Obi-Wan. We want you to come home. We’re sorry how we handled you leaving. It was very poorly done by both of us.”

Obi-Wan looked away, unable to look them both in the eyes while they… explained it all. He knew they hadn’t meant it. It was a mistake. It was a _misunderstanding_. They were looking for comfort and they thought they needed him. They both loved each other, even if Anakin thought he loved him. Obi-Wan knew he didn’t need to be a part of that. 

“No, don’t make that face,” Padmé said sharply. “Obi-Wan, look at me.”

Obi-Wan reluctantly looked back up, Padmé rubbing her face in frustration, muttering, “Ugh, we did this all wrong. Sorry Ahsoka—”

“No problem, Padmé.” Her tone was solemn and serious, but her eyes glittered in a way that said she was _living_ for this gossip.

“Obi-Wan,” Padmé began again, “while our methods were terrible, the intention was honest. Anakin and I _love_ you. I meant it when I kissed you, and so did Anakin.”

Obi-Wan tried his absolute hardest to ignore the ridiculously thrilled expression on Ahsoka’s face. He still didn’t quite follow, but he could feel the flush on his neck and the racing of his heart, and he had never been more glad that colour wasn’t transmitted through these calls. A bundle of emotions swirled about his chest, warm and tight and so very strong. It felt horrifyingly like hope.

“I don’t…I don’t quite understand.” He quickly released his emotions to the Force, seeking calm from the emotional storm, and pretending he didn’t see the scowl Ahsoka gave him.

“Why don’t you come home and we can talk about it then? We miss you,” Anakin pressed before he held Luke up to his face, squashing their cheeks together, Luke laughing brightly. “Luke misses you!”

Obi-Wan smiled involuntarily.

“I would happily go through it all with you now, Obi-Wan, but through a comm, with Ahsoka eavesdropping is not the best option for anyone. Please come back?” Padmé tried again.

“Come on, Obi-Wan,” Ahsoka whined, “I want to _visit_. Look how cute he is!”

Why not just give in.

It was such a small decision.

Such a small step forward…

“Alright,” he conceded softly.

“Excellent!” Padmé said, clapping her hands together. “We expect you both here as soon as you can.”

Ahsoka grinned back. “It shouldn’t take more than a month or two with my contacts, wherever you are in the galaxy.”

“Obi-Wan can bring you up to speed on all of that,” Anakin said. He was doing his damnedest to make eye contact with Obi-Wan but he didn’t quite feel ready for that. 

“Okay, we will let you go for now, that’s probably enough for today,” Padmé said, her face making this soft hopeful expression at him. It was…something. 

Anakin turned to Ahsoka. “Oh! Snips, can you find me a XP-69 processor chip? Threepio’s is busted and I can’t find a replacement.”

“Yeah, of course,” Ahsoka said. “You’ll owe me though.”

“Fair enough.”

Padmé rolled her eyes at the pair of them. “Okay, let’s let them go, Ani. Obi-Wan looks very cold and wet. Bye!”

“Luke, say bye-bye,” Anakin prompted, waving his hand at the screen.

Luke looked at his mother, then his father, then at them, before he lifted his hand, shook it violently and said, “Bah-bah.”

Ahsoka laughed and waved back, the white markings on the side of her face scrunching up from sheer joy. Obi-Wan gave them both a quick smile, a small wave to Luke, and then hung up.

He felt like he’d just run for miles and miles. Exhausted and dazed and a little breathless. It wasn't even that bad.

Ahsoka turned on him, a truly ridiculous smile on her face. “Sooo…looks like I was right, hey?”

Obi-Wan threw the nearest pillow at her face in childish frustration.

“I’m having a shower,” Obi-Wan said, standing and making for the bathroom.

“Sure,” Ahsoka yelled after him. “I left you some dry clothes in there!”

The shower was luxurious; all wide open spaces with crisp lines and silver decoration. Most importantly, the water was hot. Obi-Wan hadn’t felt this warm since he’d left Tatooine, the water sliding blissfully down his body felt like heaven. It washed away the cold that had settled into his bones from the past few months. Obi-Wan exhaled, shoulders relaxing into the calm warmth. He turned his face into the hot spray and let his mind turn off for a while and just…not worry. He found some shampoo that smelled very distinctly of Bail and washed his hair, which was getting too long for his tastes. It was almost at the length it had been at the begining of the war. He’d have to get it cut at some point.

Warm and clean, Obi-Wan exited the shower with reluctance, dried himself off with the softest towel he’d felt in a damn long time, and climbed into the pyjamas Ahsoka had left out for him. They were a very dark green and he felt rather silly in them. She’d probably done it on purpose too.

Ahsoka looked up from where she was still curled up on the couch, a data pad in hand. “Better?”

“Yes, thank you,” Obi-Wan replied.

“Excellent, now come and let’s get you into bed, you look wiped,” Ahsoka said pointing at a door to her left. She opened it up revealing a small room with a large bed, piled high with thick blankets and pillows, all various shades of silver and blue.

Obi-Wan followed her in before his brain processed _one bed_.

“Um, I can stay on the couch…?” Obi-Wan tried.

“I have my own room, it’s fine. This is Bail’s room but he’s not going to care if you use it,” Ahsoka assured him. “In you get.”

He smiled at her. “You’ve become very bossy, did you know that?”

“I’ve always been bossy, but you don’t have any authority over me anymore so I can say whatever I want,” she said, grinning back at him.

Obi-Wan nodded and did as instructed, pulling back at least three layers of blankets before climbing in. He settled back into the mountain of pillows feeling much too pampered. Ahsoka was still standing by the door.

“Goodnight, Ahsoka,” he prompted.

“Night,” she said in return.

Ahsoka switched out the light and made to leave before she paused, her silhouette outlined by the light from the lounge.

“Were you refusing to go home because of them?” Ahsoka asked seriously to the darkness of the room.

Obi-Wan couldn’t bring himself to answer that. The answer was yes, but even in his own head that sounded pathetic, he didn’t want to hear how terrible it sounded out loud.

“I’m going to assume that’s a yes. Take it from someone who’s already gone through this loss of purpose. You need to decide what you want to do. It doesn't have to be for the rest of your life. Just for now,” Ahsoka said, voice low and serious. “What do you want, Obi-Wan?”

He wasn’t sure.

“Think about it,” Ahsoka murmured finally and then left the room, pulling the door closed with a soft click.

Obi-Wan had no idea when she’d become so wise.

* * *

It took them a week to sort everything out. Bail managed two short visits; one to organise rebellion related things with Ahsoka, and one to have a catch up with Obi-Wan. It had been lovely to be able to speak with Bail again. As much as he now lived under the rule of a dangerous, manipulative, all-powerful ruler, Bail had somehow still retained his jovial attitude and good sense of humour. His company was refreshing after so long without it. Bail updated him on the cruelty of everything going on in the Empire and what they were trying to do to stop it. So far they had a few small groups organising, but they were nowhere near ready to do anything yet, and likely wouldn’t for a few years or so. Bail had suggested that Obi-Wan join them in fighting the Empire and he’d said he would think about it.

It was also wondrous to have Ahsoka back in his life. She had a sharp wit and positive way of looking at things that really made it hard for him to worry about anything for too long. Ahsoka also now glared at him whenever he freed his emotions into the Force; she’d evidently decided a stance on it and was going to annoy him into stopping. She’d also taken to teasing him mercilessly about Anakin and Padmé. Strangely enough, in some kind of backward way, it helped, at least in his own head; if it was something she could joke about, then clearly it mustn't be that big of an issue?

Once everything had been sorted for their trip home, and Ahsoka had found the right replacement part for Threepio, the three of them had left Coruscant. They packed their respective bags, Ahsoka packing things for herself and the twins, shoving in a small pile of toys she had somehow acquired when Obi-Wan wasn’t looking. Artoo had whistled his joy at getting out of the house (as much as he loved the apartment) thanks to both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka deciding it would be safer if they stayed indoors and away from prying eyes. Artoo had begun to go a bit stir-crazy after a few days of listlessness.

Once the journey was underway, the trip back to the Outer Rim was certainly quicker than his one in had been. It helped that more people were trying to get _away_ from the Empire and that Ahsoka apparently had contacts just about everywhere. There were some close calls; some periods of hiding in cargo bays and storage containers, some moments of running without looking back, and some moments of falling asleep on each other because the running really took it out of them. Slowly but surely they were closing in on Tatooine.

As they got closer to the desert planet, Obi-Wan had done as Ahsoka had suggested and thought about what he wanted. In all honestly he wasn’t quite sure. He knew he wanted to be a part of Anakin, Padmé and the twins lives; that much was certain. It just became murky from then on. As much as it pained him to admit it, he was still very much attached to them. He missed the feeling of closeness they’d all had before he’d left… and nearly eight months on, both kisses still plagued his memory and lurked on the edges of his dreams, calling him to them. There was only so much meditating a person could do to ignore the pull.

He wanted…something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers conspiratorially* Hey. Bail's so happy he cried all the way home. You're welcome.
> 
> In case it wasn't real fucking obvious, Ahsoka is my fave. You fucking tell that Obi those hard truths, babe!


	16. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My goodness, sorry about the long wait; I was correct in my assumption that jet lag would fuck me over, and my goodness did it ever. My family then wanted all my time, plus i needed to catch up with friends before they went overseas and then my birthday meant that the fic got sidelined for a week or so. Thank you for being patient and hopefully I will be able to return to consistent posting (Xmas and a BigBang I am doing might cause delays but I have high hopes!). 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter and as usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. <3 Thanks for all your lovely comments, they've kept me going for the last few weeks <3

Anakin was thrilled beyond measure: the twins were nearly one, Padmé was happy, and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were coming home. 

Luke and Leia could sense something was up a good week before anything really happened. They both watched their parents with unusual interest and chatted with each other conspiratorially. The pair watched Anakin with a keen eye as he became progressively more excited about their visitors arriving, evidently feeling their father’s emotions leak along their bonds. 

Overall, the two of them were doing very well and were so very close to talking properly. Padmé had been ecstatic when Leia had called her ‘Mam’ a week or so ago. Given that they were about to turn one, Anakin was fairly certain it was about time, although he personally suspected they were so happy chatting gibberish to each other that they didn’t feel so much of a need to talk to their parents. 

Regardless, they were growing nicely and were very energetic. Leia had now worked out how to totter around without holding onto objects, though Luke was still clinging to things for balance; Anakin and Padmé were going to have their hands full when both could walk completely unhindered. At least they’d have more people around to help by the time they got to that point, depending on how long Ahsoka decided to stay with them.

* * *

Padmé had cornered him the night before Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were expected home and they laid down a game plan. Padmé insisted on having the Discussion on the first evening; get the twins and Ahsoka out of the way for a short time and get the conversation done. Padmé was adamant that if they gave Obi-Wan time to really think about it, he was going to find creative ways to get out of it. Anakin couldn’t disagree with her logic.

“I think he’s interested, I really do,” Padmé had said thoughtfully, “but I think he doesn’t know what to do with that, so were going to need to be very clear and be very gentle. That okay Ani?”

“Yes.” Anakin had nodded. He wanted to get this right.

“And _if_ he says no?” Padmé pushed.

“We accept it.”

Padmé nodded, appearing to assure herself of the same.  


Anakin didn’t think Obi-Wan would say no…well, he hoped he didn’t at least. There was always the chance he’d flatly turn them down, but Obi-Wan had at least _seemed_ responsive to their advances, unexpected as they were at the time. It was what Anakin was clinging to now. 

He would accept a refusal, if it came to it though. He would be disappointed to be sure, but he could manage; Anakin wanted Obi-Wan in his life in any way he could have it, and if that meant never mentioning their offer ever again, then he would accept that. Plus he would forever have those two kisses he’d stolen.

Padmé smiled at him and then leant forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I think it will all go fine. Now relax and go to sleep. We can’t have you sleep deprived with your long drive to Mos Eisley tomorrow.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

Padmé scoffed. “A good three hours in a speeder with the twins? Not a chance, Ani. The trip into Mos Espa is bad enough. You’re on your own. It’ll be fine.”

Anakin had lain in bed and fretted about it all for at least an hour before sleep claimed him, but now the day was here and they were all coming home.

Both twins had followed his every move that morning as they sensed his anticipation and Leia attached herself to his leg in an attempt to get to go wherever Dad was going. Clearly it was somewhere exciting and she wanted in. After apologising, managing to pry her off his leg, and passing Leia back to her mother, Anakin set out.

The drive was its usual boring, desolate self, with nothing but orange landscape speeding by him the whole way, interspaced with the occasional homestead or rock formation. It had just become a series of landmarks to Anakin now. Farmstead, farmstead, rock that looks like a bird, farmstead, long expanse of nothing, rock that looks like a different kind of bird, etc. It made a good checklist though. He knew he was getting close when he hit ‘farmstead with a big rock next to it’.

He was early when he found a park nearby to the main area of the Mos Eisley spaceport. It was, as usual, busy enough to make it difficult to spot individuals in the throng of people. It made him faintly jumpy as so many off-worlders really multiplied his chances of being recognised, but considering how long his hair was now, pulled back into a high tail, they’d have to be looking pretty hard. He decided waiting by the speeder was easiest as it was in the general area of they had agreed to meet in, wandering off was asking to get lost for at least an hour. He sat on the hood of the vehicle and waited.

Artoo’s whistle attracted his attention around half an hour later, breaking through the general low rumble of movement and chatter. His head turned, following the sound and spotted the three of them. Anakin waved them over and grinned, eyes roving over the trio as they approached him. Obi-Wan didn’t look as thin as he had when he had left and his eyes were brighter; both excellent signs. The pair of them were dressed in vaguely tattered clothing, Ahsoka in shades of red and brown and Obi-Wan in a washed out blue, looking for all the world to be some very poor smugglers. 

“A—Seripas!” He watched Obi-Wan’s eyes light up as he caught sight of Anakin and the speeder.

“Force, I missed you!” Anakin slid forward off the hood, stepping in front of Obi-Wan. His hands moved to rest on Obi-Wan’s shoulders, one hand tracing up his neck. “It is so good to see you.” Fuck, as much as Padmé has suggested they move slowly, having Obi-Wan here, beautiful and warm beneath his fingertips was incredibly tempting. 

“Ahem, gentlemen?” A cool voice interrupted.

Anakin pulled back, his eyes moving past Obi-Wan. “Snips!” He cried out and lunged forward, pulling his ex-Padawan into a tight embrace and lifting her up off the ground. 

Ahsoka shrieked and hit his arms. “Put me down, Skyguy!”

He did so, still smiling all the while. She’d gotten taller since he’d last seen her over a year ago, the tip of her head at the same height as Obi-Wan, with the tips of her montrals reaching above that. 

Ahsoka was growing up.

“You look well,” Anakin said conversationally and indicated for them all to get into the vehicle.

“Nothing like fighting to dethrone an evil dictator to put a spring in your step,” Ahsoka said lightly, hopping into the back beside Artoo with Obi-Wan getting into the front beside Anakin.

“It was a rough trip in places, but we made it,” Obi-Wan said, smiling at both of them. “How are Padmé and the twins today?”

Anakin updated them both on the twins and his wife as they drove back to the farm. Again, the landmarks flashed by them in reverse order as they talked. He learnt about how Ahsoka had been camping out at the Temple to divert wayward Jedi from danger, though she would not admit _who_ exactly she had diverted. He listened to how she had run into Bail and been caught up in all he was doing for the rebellion and how much she wanted to help. He could still hear the old Ahsoka in her voice, young and passionate, but now more tempered by experience. 

Obi-Wan caught him up on useless gossip they had picked up on their journey—most interestingly that the majority of the smuggling trade had shifted from spice to weapons, particularly going in towards the Core. It was troubling, but not surprising. People were scared and they wanted to be able to protect themselves, and from what Obi-Wan had been saying about Coruscant, if you were non-human and living on the lower levels, then you needed that.

Finally, they made it back. Obi-Wan looked around fondly at the farm, commenting on how good it was looking. Ahsoka stood beside him, stretching and asking about the ‘big metal things’ before Anakin explained to her how moisture farming worked.

“Well,” she said thoughtfully, yanking her bag out of the speeder, “farming moisture had never even crossed my mind as something to do.”

“Welcome to living on a desert planet, Ahsoka,” Anakin informed her and led them back to the house, Artoo whining about the sand in his servos already.

“Hey kiddos!” Anakin called from the doorway, throwing open the door.

Shrieking filled his ears as the twins realised their father was home. 

“Ani…” Padmé smiled through tight eyes where she sat on the floor with Luke and Leia. “Please don’t overexcite them.”

“Hello darlings,” Anakin cooed down at the twins. “I found your sister lurking in a space-port so I brought her to meet you both.”

Ahsoka blinked at him. “I’m not—”

“Yeah, you are.” He placed a hand on her back and pushed her further into the room. “Come meet your tiny, useless siblings.”

“Anakin,” Padmé chastised, “they’re not _useless_.”

“They are a little bit.”

Padmé rolled her eyes at him.

He watched, joyous, as his Padawan sat down on the floor beside the twins and began chatting to them. She played with their short hair and Luke latched onto her finger, pulling it into his mouth before mumbling around it. 

“You cute, gross little thing,” Ahsoka cooed at him, tugging Luke closer to her for a better look, Leia practically clambering into her lap to investigate the new friend. “Yes, hello to you too; I’m Ahsoka.”

“Ska!” Leia said brightly.

Ahsoka laughed. “Nearly. You’ll get it.”

Anakin watched them for a few moments longer before refocusing. “I’ll go get their rooms set up,” he told Padmé. “Come on, Obi-Wan, let me show you your new room.”

Obi-Wan followed him out, picking up his and Ahsoka’s bags. “So you’ve extended the space?” he asked, interested.

“Yup.” Anakin led him down the stairs and into the second door on the left. “When the twins got bigger we needed an extra room for all their stuff, so we used your old room. We then thought you’d like a room that wasn’t filled with drooling, crying messes all the time, so I decided it was time to renovate. So, with a nice mix of the Force and a spade, Padmé and I dug the hall further into the ground. We’ve added two rooms so far and I plan to add a few more. We’ll probably need the space eventually. We’ve put you in here, and Ahsoka can have the one across the hall.”

Obi-Wan dropped the bags to the ground and circled the room, inspecting it closely. The red-orange rock was near smooth beneath Obi-Wan’s hand as he trailed it along the wall. “Excellent job, both of you,” he commended. “Very sturdy.”

“Thank you. We left the room mostly empty so you could fill it up yourself?” Anakin had not meant to phrase that as a question.

Obi-Wan dropped his blue-green gaze to Anakin, eyes open and searching. “You both still want me here?”

Anakin stepped forward. “We didn’t want you to leave in the first place.”

Obi-Wan looked away, a light flush tinging his ears. 

“Uh. Padmé and I are going to talk to you about it all later,” Anakin stumbled over his words nervously. “I don’t want to mess this up.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Okay.”

From there they dumped Obi-Wan’s bag in the corner and ferried Ahsoka’s into her room, Obi-Wan helping Anakin put some sheets and blankets onto the bed. After that, they gave the same treatment to Obi-Wan’s bed, shoving sheets onto the mattress, duvet and pillow. It was quiet, familiar work.

“We kept meaning to do this before you got here, but I kept forgetting and Padmé can’t quite lift her arm very high yet without it hurting,” Anakin explained.

“Is she doing all right?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin nodded and placed the final pillow on the bed. “She’s healing great, now just a matter of strengthening it all up again, which as we both know, takes time. Padmé is more annoyed at it than anything.”

Obi-Wan nodded sympathetically.

The afternoon passed quickly, Obi-Wan falling back into their previous routine with ease, offering to check the vaporators and spending a good hour or two toting Luke around, who had laughed and screamed his joy at having his extra parent back. Leia was still sulking about it and grumped at him whenever he tried to interact with her.

Dinner seemed to be the slow point, likely because of how badly Anakin was anticipating the chat they had planned for after dinner. Padmé had cooked a lovely dish of steamed meat and vegetables, covered in sauce and spices with some bread on the side. Ahsoka had tucked in heartily, sick of the dodgy meals and ration bars they’d eaten on the trip here, proclaiming it ‘the best thing she’d ever had in her mouth’. Padmé had lit up at the compliment and offered to show her how to make it. The conversation then devolved into cooking techniques which Anakin checked out of slightly; he could cook, but it didn't particularly interest him.

_Finally_ , they were all finished.

“Ahsoka, do you mind taking the twins downstairs for a little while and entertaining them?” Padmé asked, collecting plates up from the table.

Ahsoka grinned. “Yeah, of course I can.”

She jumped up from the table, deftly side-stepping around Padmé and crouching down on the floor where Luke and Leia were sitting, playing with the toys Ahsoka had brought them.

“Come on, babs, it’s Auntie Ahsoka time.” She scooped Leia up in one arm, and then shuffled around and wrangled Luke into the other. Luke immediately wrapped his arms around Ahsoka’s lekku, clingy tightly to her. Ahsoka levitated a few of the toys from the floor to float behind her as she went. She paused at the top of the stairs, grinning back at the three of them. 

“Good luck!” she said, winking at Obi-Wan. Ahsoka knew _exactly_ what was going on. 

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at her and then she vanished down the stairs, accompanied by the giggles of two very excited babies.

Anakin stood up and helped Padmé with tidying dinner, collecting cutlery and glasses and relocating them to the kitchen.

“What can I do?” Obi-Wan asked, following them both into the kitchen.

“Oh don’t worry about it,” Padmé replied jovially and smiled, “there’s not much to be done.”

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together and paused where he stood, eyes thoughtful and frowning.

Anakin noticed Obi-Wan’s nervous posture and decided to give him something to do. He needed to not feel like a guest if they were to convince him to stay. “Hey, can you dry these?” Anakin asked, handing a cloth to Obi-Wan.

“Of course. Thank you,” he said, taking the towel and quickly stepping further into the kitchen to dry the pan Padmé had just placed beside the sink.

Anakin noticed he was perhaps attempting to dry the pan a bit too hard, and sent him a reassuring smile. Obi-Wan was apparently nervous. It was as adorable as it was a complete novelty. Obi-Wan had always been so outwardly assured in himself, even if Anakin now knew it was less true than he had once thought it to be, so it was interesting to see the emotion so clearly expressed. 

Dishes washed and dried thoroughly, they returned to the lounge and settled into the couches. Obi-Wan took the one by the front door while Anakin and Padmé sat on their usual favourite opposite the door to the stairway.

“I take it that you have decided to…talk about us now?” Obi-Wan asked, hands clasped in his lap and sitting very straight in his seat.

“Yes,” Padmé said, “is that okay?”

Obi-Wan looked at them both with a steady gaze, only thrown off by the faint pink his ears were turning. “Yes.”

“Okay. So. We, I mean, Padmé and I, we’re really sorry how we handled you leaving. We probably should have talked to you more, and thrown ourselves at you, um, less. We were still dealing with a lot, and neither of us were the most, ah, functional people.” Anakin, for all that he had thought about what he would say for nearly a year, was having incredible trouble putting it into a coherent sentence. “But, we did mean it. I—we both _love you_ , Obi-Wan, in _every way_ that means. You’re a part of our family, and we want you around us and around the twins. We want you to think of it as home and for you to be a part of _us_.”Obi-Wan had flushed even further, now staring at a corner of the room. “Obi-Wan?”

He shivered and seemed to come back to himself, focusing back on Anakin, “I, um, yes, I would, I mean that, sorry.” Obi-Wan took a deep breath and Anakin could only grin at him. “I would like that very much. To be a part of your family, for this to be home. I’m sorry as well. I was also not coping very well at the time, and the, um, unexpected affection, was…”

“Unwelcome?” Padmé offered.

“No, not unwelcome.” Anakin was begining to love the particular shade of pink Obi-Wan was turning. “But given the upheaval we’d all just experienced, it was just… too much, I think. Too much, too fast, and I didn’t know what it meant, or what either of you wanted.” Obi-Wan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll admit I panicked.”

“It was a fair response,” Anakin agreed and leant forward on his knees. “ _Would_ you be interested in something with us?”

“I love you both,” Obi-Wan whispered, refusing to meet either of their eyes, but Anakin’s breath stuttered in his throat just the same. Obi-Wan had not said it out loud since Mustafar and it near stopped Anakin’s heart to hear it again. “I’ve never…really allowed myself this attachment before. I spent my entire life trying to be the perfect Jedi, and follow the code with no attachments.” He huffed and rubbed his chin, a nervous habit that was still around even when the beard was gone. “Of course, I was never any good at it. I was attached to the pair of you, Qui-Gon, Satine, Ahsoka, all the Jedi and the Clones; _Force_ , I cared about Hondo and Ventress by the end of the war… but I tried _so hard_ to never let it go too far. _This_ is a terrifying step for me to take, you have to understand that _._ ” Obi-Wan was practically shaking and all Anakin wanted to do was reach out and hold him.

“Of course we do, Obi-Wan,” Anakin said.

“Look at you talking about your feelings,” Padmé said fondly, clearly trying to diffuse the awkwardness. “I’m so proud.”

Obi-Wan let out a tiny huff of laughter and finally met Anakin’s gaze again.

“I understand,” Anakin assured him. “We can go however fast or slow or whatever you need—or nothing at all, if that’s what you want.”

There was a moment of silence as Obi-Wan pressed his lips together. “Just to clarify; you’re offering for me to join you both? In your relationship?” Obi-Wan asked carefully.

“Yes,” Padmé confirmed, “in whatever capacity you are comfortable with.”

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together and was quiet for a long while before asking a slow, “Can I think about this?”

Padmé nodded. “Of course.”

Obi-Wan smiled tentatively at them both and stood up. “Thank you. I think I’m going to go to bed. I have a lot to think about.”

* * *

The next couple of days were a very weird mixture of joyousness and vexation for Anakin. 

To have his whole family under one roof was the absolute greatest feeling; he hadn’t realised how much he’d missed having Ahsoka around before now, but enjoying her constant presence being back in his life felt like a gift. He’d also managed to fix Threepio with the processor chip she had very kindly acquired for him.

He couldn’t quite connect with her though.

She was keeping her distance from him and it perplexed him. Obi-Wan had informed Anakin that she knew about the whole falling thing, so he suspected it was about that, but given that she wouldn’t truly engage with him, he wasn’t entirely sure. Ahsoka had, however, latched onto Luke and Leia with gusto and was spoiling them rotten. She had brought a selection of toys in from the Core; namely a stuffed gooberfish and a few plastic ships. Ahsoka and Luke would sit on the floor together and make racing noises as they flew the ships around with the Force, Ahsoka’s ship moving much more smoothly than Luke’s more erratic flight path. Leia loved levitating the gooberfish around and the stuffed animal would follow her most places. He was affectionately named ‘Gub’.

Anakin resolved to talk to her once she’d had more time to settle in. That and she seemed perfectly happy talking to Padmé, so Anakin figured he could get Padmé’s advice on it all before he went and said the wrong thing. He didn't want to do that. Snips was another of his children in Anakin’s eyes and it pained him that there was this new and unexpected gap in their relationship.

Obi-Wan was nearly as illusive as Ahsoka was, but Anakin was trying his absolute best to give him time to think. They kept their conversation light and friendly, mainly about Obi-Wan’s travels and local gossip on Tatooine, and Anakin was near biting his lips together in an effort to not push the issue. He definitely stared too much and Padmé was now just making fun of him.

They'd been sitting in the lounge room, Anakin and Padmé on the couch and Ahsoka and Obi-Wan on the floor entertaining the children. Anakin had once again been staring a little too intently at them both when Padmé looked up from her book and quietly said, “Why don’t you float a pear for him. Surely that would help make up his mind.”

Anakin had scowled at her and thrown a pillow in her face. Padmé had just laughed at the pillow before patting his leg and adding, “It’ll be fine. Stop stressing.”

He had grunted in response. Anakin knew that, but he was feeling particularly impatient. He’d already waited nearly eight months, and now an extra few days were _killing him_. Obi-Wan had caught him staring a few times, each time giving Anakin a reassuring smile, so surely it couldn’t be bad?

Time would tell.

* * *

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan called from the door to the homestead.

Anakin poked his head around the side of the vaporator he was working on, waving a hand at Obi-Wan to indicate where he was. At Obi-Wan’s answering wave Anakin refocused on his tinkering. He needed to get these parts back in before any sand managed to sneak in. He’d have to start over otherwise and that would just be inefficient. 

He heard Obi-Wan sit beside him on the sand and silently watched for a long while as Anakin finished putting the mechanisms back into place, screwing them in tightly and sealing it back up again.

“Hello,” Anakin finally said, turning his attention to Obi-Wan and moving to stand up.

“I was wondering if you were interested in some ‘saber training?” Obi-Wan asked without preamble, standing and brushing sand from his lap. “I’m rather out of practice."

Anakin blinked. He’d completely forgotten about his lightsaber. He wasn’t even sure he knew where it was. Practice was probably a good idea; he was likely terrible after a year of not touching it. 

“Yeah, sure, same here. Though you may need to give me some time to look for it?” Anakin shot him a guilty smile.

Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head at him, but was smiling back. “Okay. I’ll meet you up at my meditation rock?”

Anakin nodded before frowning. “Why up there? Our ‘sabers will be seen for miles at that height.”

“Don’t worry. I know a place,” Obi-Wan said and walked off.

After finding his lightsaber buried in the bottom of a bag that had been shoved under the bed, Anakin returned to the high crag above the house. Obi-Wan sat motionless at his usual spot, the light breeze rusting his auburn locks, now much longer from a year of not having a haircut.

“Found it?” Obi-Wan asked, not opening his eyes.

“Yeah.”

“Try not to lose it,” Obi-Wan said absently, turning his own ‘saber hilt over in his hand, “they are rather difficult to replace nowadays.”

Anakin hadn’t thought of that.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and stood, nodding his head to the west. “Come.”

Obi-Wan moved quickly and began to lead him back into the mountains. They followed what could barely be described as a path through the rocks, taking them up and down sharp inclines before Obi-Wan slid down a rather steep incline of rocks and into the darkness of a cave.

Alright then. 

Anakin followed him down, though more slowly than Obi-Wan had taken it, more unsure of his footing. Obi-Wan had obviously been here before at some point. It worried him that Obi-Wan had been out here without any of them knowing. Clearly he had been sneaking off far more than Anakin had been aware.

The cave was growing ever more dark and cold the deeper he went. By the time he reached the bottom of the incline Anakin could barely see a foot in front of him, his only point of reference being Obi-Wan’s now activated lightsaber illuminating part of the cave in an eerie blue glow.

The cave was deep. It ran off into darkness on every side of Obi-Wan, walls only barely visible in the glow, and the ceiling was completely obscured by shadows. Anakin could hear a faint drip of water somewhere in the distance.

“Do you want to jump straight into this?” Obi-Wan asked, swinging his saber in absent circles.

Anakin smiled and switched his on, the snap-hiss of it’s activation echoing oddly in the darkness. “Maybe a few Katas first. I really haven’t touched this thing in a while.”

“A good idea,” Obi-Wan agreed and crossed the cave floor, boots tapping across the flat stone, and came to stand a few feet from Anakin.

He followed Obi-Wan’s movements to begin with until muscle memory took over and they followed through a selection of Katas. Already, he could feel the strain on his body as he reacquainted himself with the movements and felt a prickle of perspiration break out over his skin. 

“It’s harder than I remember,” Anakin admitted, dropping to sit on the cool floor when they were finished.

Obi-Wan smiled and sat beside him. “It is. I at least managed to get a few practices in over the last year and it still hurts. Still up for a round?”

Anakin lay fully back on the cool rocks, enjoying how wonderful they felt against hot skin. “Give me a few minutes, and then yes.”

“You’re getting old,” Obi-Wan taunted and poked him in the side of his stomach.

“I’m a dad. I’m allowed to be old,” Anakin grumbled, rubbing the spot. “Those two have taken years off my life.”

Obi-Wan just smiled fondly at him.

After a good half hour of plastering himself against the cool cave floor, Anakin decided he was good to go and stood up, reigniting his saber. Obi-Wan, who had been using his for light, just stood and moved opposite him in the space.

Anakin was about to ask ‘Ready?’ when Obi-Wan lunged at him. Taken by surprise Anakin only just managed to block in time.

“That’s cheating,” Anakin said, shoving Obi-Wan back with a strong parry and stepping away.

Obi-Wan smirked at him. “Then you cheated a lot in the past.”

He wasn’t wrong. 

Anakin threw himself back into the fight. They were both slightly slower than usual, but managed to keep the fight going for some time. Their blades met each other with conviction and more focus than Anakin was used to when using his saber. There were a few tricks he’d forgotten and Obi-Wan had managed to singe a few hairs and the edge of Anakin’s tunic before he got the hang of it again. They danced around each other like leaves caught in a stream, following where the river took them and allowing the Force to shape their movements. By the end of their match, Anakin had lost himself in the familiar rhythm of trading blows with Obi-Wan, letting his mind focus in on one point of light in the darkness.

Anakin conceded after Obi-Wan managed to disarm him, his blade twisted out of his grip and flung across the cave floor. 

“That was good,” Anakin said between huffing in breaths and fetching his saber hilt off the ground. “We should do that more often.”

“I think that’s a good idea. We shouldn’t let those skills go rusty.” Obi-Wan was equally breathless as he agreed. “Neither of us are as good as we used to be.”

Anakin hummed in agreement. “Ahsoka could kick both our asses.”

“Most likely.”

There was a long pause in which Anakin could sense the conflict within Obi-Wan. 

“I need to talk to you,” Obi-Wan said finally.

“What about?” Anakin asked, frowning, not liking the edgy expression and posture Obi-Wan was suddenly exhibiting.

Obi-Wan looked away. “The Temple. Sidious.”

That didn’t sound good at all. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Probably not.”

Anakin closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “How important?”

“Very, unfortunately,” Obi-Wan said. “I wouldn’t bring it up at all if it wasn’t.”

Anakin let his breath out in a rush, replying, “Alright. Here or back home?”

“It’s a bit dark in here for a proper conversation. Let’s go back.”

The pair of them clambered back out of the cave and into the warm afternoon light. They slowly made their way back along the loose path before Obi-Wan sat them down still some ways off from the homestead. Anakin thought it must be pretty terrible news if Obi-Wan is unwilling to do it anywhere near home. He felt his heart rate increase. He had an awful sinking feeling in his stomach.

Obi-Wan sat beside Anakin with their backs pressed against a cliff face, both turned in slightly to one another with their legs tangling together the middle. It gave Anakin an excellent view of Obi-Wan’s face and the clearly unhappy expression on it.

Anakin waited.

“You remember when I asked you to keep your shields up and start altering their configuration?” Obi-Wan said at last.

Anakin nodded. He still remembered it vividly. He’d just wanted to feel his babies and then the unexpected surge of rage had taken him by surprise and overwhelmed him. He’d fled the house until Obi-Wan worked out how to fix it. “You said you had a theory about it then.”

“I did.”

“Were you right?” Anakin pressed on.

A sigh. “I was. Unfortunately.”

Anakin couldn’t resist. “Never thought I’d see you sad about being right.”

Obi-Wan gave his leg a little kick. “I’m trying to be gentle.”

“I prefer it a little rough,” Anakin countered, grinning stupidly. He’d missed their easy banter.

“ _Ana_ kin…” Obi-Wan grumbled, slightly offset by the smile tugging at the edge of his mouth.

“Alright. Sorry,” Anakin said. “Out with whatever terrible thing you have to tell me.”

“Sidious has a link into your head.”

Oh. 

Anakin suddenly felt very cold. He couldn’t. Surely Anakin would know? He could check. He _should_ check. He could get rid of it. Very carefully, Anakin began to lower his shields…

“Don’t,” Obi-Wan’s voice cut through to him.

Anakin paused and looked up at Obi-Wan who had moved from his seat to be kneeling between Anakin’s legs, a hand on his knee. He hadn’t noticed him move at all.

“Don’t do that,” Obi-Wan urged, his grip tight on Anakin’s leg. “Please.”

“How do you know…?” Anakin’s voice cracks and he cuts of his sentence.

Obi-Wan watched him with gentle eyes. “Because I went back to the Temple to see the security footage again—”

“—I wasn’t at the Temple! We went over this. It wasn’t me.” Anakin could hear the faintly panicked edge to his voice. He focused on Obi-Wan’s hand on his knee. He was safe. Obi-Wan had him.

“Yes and no, dear one,” Obi-Wan said. “There is no memory in your head of being in the Temple, but there is very clear security footage of it.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Anakin informed him angrily.

“I know. I believe Sidious somehow got into your head and did it for you. The Anakin I saw in the security footage doesn’t use Form V and never refers to any of his troops by name. Does that sound like you?” Obi-Wan asked.

“No.”

“No it doesn’t,” Obi-Wan said evenly, “and it explains why you become so furious when you let your shields down. I think there’s a bond with him hidden somewhere in your head, likely formed when you agreed to be his Apprentice, connecting you both.”

Anakin was silent for a long time, focused deep in his own head. Thinking and probing around inside his head to see if he could find anything unusual.

“I can’t feel anything,” Anakin admitted softly, trying to breathe calmly. His heart stuttered staccato in his chest and it was making him feel very on edge. He never wanted anything to do with Sidious again and knowing that there might be a _bond_ with him was sickening.

“I think theres too much we don’t know about the Sith,” Obi-Wan said. “He hid under our kriffing noses for years and we never noticed. Who knows what he can and cannot do. Hiding a connection could be child’s play.”

“But what if you’re wrong? What if it was me? What if there’s something wrong with me?” Anakin asked shakily. It worried him. No. It terrified him.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Obi-Wan soothed, moving closer and gently resting his hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “If you don’t believe me, then ask Ahsoka. She saw the footage and came to the same conclusion all on her own.”

Anakin could feel himself twitch at that. That would explain a few of the looks she’d thrown him. He’d have to talk to her. The thought of Ahsoka seeing him like that… he shook his head.

“But—”

Obi-Wan cut him off again. “Anakin. Do you _really_ think I would be here, practically in your lap and thinking about the best way to remove that expression off your face, if I thought the man in the Temple was you?”

Anakin’s heart fluttered. “No.” There was absolutely no way Obi-Wan would be here if that were the case. Not if he thought Anakin had actively killed everyone Obi-Wan had ever known and destroyed his home. He may have come back to take the twins away somewhere safer than their father’s presence, but he would not have agreed to stay with them both if he had any doubts. 

“Why would you tell me this?” Anakin whispered. He tried as much as he could to never think about that period of time. It was so dark and cold and Anakin never wanted to feel like that again. He hated that it was being brought up again.

“Because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. I truly hope we never see Sidious again, but if we do, I want you to be prepared and know what he may use against you,” Obi-Wan said. “Counter him with new shields and the knowledge of what he is capable of. I refuse to lose you to that monster again,” Obi-Wan declared fiercely, staring Anakin down with an unusual intensity in his eyes.

“Okay.”

Obi-Wan nodded and made to move back to where he had been sitting but Anakin snagged his wrist before he could get very far.

“Have you thought about our offer?” Anakin asked quietly. He wanted off this topic of Sidious and he urgently wanted Obi-Wan’s answer. 

Obi-Wan paused, shook Anakin’s hand off his wrist, and stood up, leaning against the rock, looking at Anakin thoughtfully before muttering, “I wanted to discuss that too, but I’m not sure now’s the moment.”

“Please. Now would be a great moment. Any moment not discussing Sidious is an excellent moment,” Anakin asserted, scrambling up from his seat.

Obi-Wan looked at him skeptically. “Exactly. I don’t think we should have this talk while you’re so emotionally compromised.”

Anakin resisted rolling his eyes. “Obi-Wan, relationships are emotionally compromising. I’m desperate for your answer, Sith Lord or no Sith Lord.”

“How romantic,” Obi-Wan grinned at him.

Anakin groaned, “Obi-Wan—”

“Okay, if you’re sure…”

“ _Yes!_ ” Anakin couldn’t decide if Obi-Wan was just trying to be thoughtful or if he was intentionally trying to drive Anakin crazy.

“Okay. Yes, I want this,” Obi-Wan said, the statement near bursting out of him. “I want what you’re both offering, but I want to start slow. I think it will all be bit much otherwise.”

Anakin nodded, reactively stepping closer, his heart hammering in his chest and feeling near-euphoric. He said _yes_. Obi-Wan said _yes_. He wanted to wrap himself around his friend—partner? and hold on tightly so Obi-Wan could feel how he did. 

The actual words finally caught up to him as his mind processed it fully.

“Okay. That sounds like a good idea,” Anakin said. “We want you to be happy with us. How do you want to go forward?”

Obi-Wan was starting to go faintly pink around the edges again.

Anakin paused. Did Obi-Wan actually have any idea what he was getting into? 

“Have you had any kind of relationship before? Even casual ones?” Anakin asked tentatively.

Obi-Wan stroked at his chin and stared at the horizon. “Yes. Vos and I would let off steam together on occasion.”

That had not been the answer he’d been expecting. “Vos? Really?”

“We’ve known each other for a very long time and you were very frustrating as a Padawan,” Obi-Wan said.

“But you always seemed to annoy each other.”

Obi-Wan just gave him a look. Oh. Well. That was something.

“I think perhaps starting one at a time might help,” Obi-Wan hedged. “I want you both but I think it could become rather overwhelming to begin with. Would that be okay? Start with you and work up to Padmé?” 

Anakin nodded. “I think that’s fine, though I will run it by Padmé later—”

“Also, are you sure you will be okay with Padmé and I?” Obi-Wan cut in. “You were very upset about us hugging when we first got to Tatooine and I don’t want to cause any problems.”

Anakin laughed, and brushed a hand over Obi-Wan’s cheek adoringly. “I was in a mood that afternoon was because of the man who had been flirting with you in town, and then when I found you both I accused Padmé of what I _wanted_ to do and, well, we talked about it. We planned to talk to you about joining us for months and then we kind of missed our chance.” He shrugged. “Besides, when Padmé kissed you before you left I thought that was the loveliest thing I had ever seen.”

“Right. Well.” Obi-Wan smiled, a bit lost for words. “That’s good to know.”

“Anything else? Doubts? Worries?” Anakin asked, stroking his thumb along Obi-Wan’s cheekbone.

“Not that I can think of at this moment,” Obi-Wan said and his eyes flickered to Anakin’s hand on his face. “That’s very distracting.”

Anakin smiled and leant forward, brushing his nose against Obi-Wan’s. 

“Is this okay?” Anakin murmured, giving Obi-Wan an option out. He didn’t want to fuck this up before it even really began.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan replied and closed the distance.

Obi-Wan kissed him gently, just pressing their lips together and closing his eyes. Anakin leant into the kiss, trying not to hyperventilate with excitement at it all, while bringing his other hand up to cradle Obi-Wan’s face. Obi-Wan relaxed into him, stepping closer and tangling his hands in Anakin’s shirt, letting out a small breathy sigh that made Anakin’s chest ache. Anakin rubbed small circles against Obi-Wan’s skin with his thumbs and pulled back to look at him. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes were closed, his lashes resting gently against flushed cheeks, with his mouth gently parted. His hair had come loose from where it had been tucked behind his ear, and it waved lightly in the breeze.

“You’re beautiful,” Anakin murmured and ran his hand back over Obi-Wan’s cheek, revelling in the feeling that he was _allowed_ to do this. Obi-Wan’s blue-green eyes flicked open and Anakin could see the denial rising on his lips. Anakin caught him before Obi-Wan could speak, leaning back in and kissing him again. 

Anakin was more insistent this time, stepping closer and gathering Obi-Wan into his arms as much as he could. Obi-Wan responded in kind, folding into the embrace and kissing back intensely, hands clasped tightly in Anakin’s shirt and accidentally sliding beneath the fabric. Anakin felt light headed and as though he could drown like this, the warm slide of skin and feeling of connection was intoxicating; feeling it echoed across their bond only amplified it.  Anakin somehow manoeuvred the pair of them so Obi-Wan was leant against the solid rock behind them, with Anakin smothering him as much as possible, before begining to kiss a trail along Obi-Wan’s jaw, relishing each little exhale and gasp. 

“Anakin—” Obi-Wan moaned, his hands clutching tighter at his waist, fingernails digging in perfectly.

“Hmm?” Anakin murmured, kissing past his jaw and down his neck, his hands gliding over his arms.

“Okay, okay,” Obi-Wan said, breathless and flustered, though Anakin could hear the smile in his voice, “let’s back up for a minute. We’re going slow, remember?”

Anakin hummed and nosed against Obi-Wan’s skin where his neck met shoulder, inhaling his warm smell, a heady mixture of Obi-Wan’s sharp scent and Padmé’s shampoo. He didn’t want to pull away, he wanted to stay like this for hours.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan questioned, gently petting Anakin’s head.

He couldn’t help himself. Anakin nipped at Obi-Wan’s skin.

Obi-Wan stiffened, his hands spasming in their grip of his waist. “ _Ana_ kin!”

“Sorry,” Anakin chuckled. He left a quick kiss where he’d bitten down, and pulled back.

“I should have known you’d be like this given the state of Padmé’s neck some days,” Obi-Wan said primly. “Nothing above my collar thank you, I’m not a teen.”

“You’re no fun,” Anakin whined while still grinning brightly.

“Mmhm,” Obi-Wan hummed in response, clearly humouring him. “Come on, we’d better go see if your Padawan has corrupted your children yet.” Obi-Wan caught Anakin’s hand in his and began leading them back to the farm.

Anakin laughed, feeling lightness and joy suffusing his chest. “She’s had a good few hours to do so, I’d be disappointed if she hadn’t.”


	17. Readjustments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goddamn this is a miracle. Sorry for the gap again, I have been crazy fucking sick: I have been sick since the last chapter came out and everything has been TERRIBLE. Thankfully, I think I am nearly over it (however the last time I said that I came down with an entirely new flu so trying not to jinx myself again lol). Not sure how I feel about the chapter; there was some key stuff I needed to get in here and I feel it's a little all over the place, but hey, my brain's been barely functional so theres probably a correlation there haha. A lot of next chapter is already written so we should (bar any new illnesses) be back on track as of this week. Fingers crossed!
> 
> As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Thanks for all your lovely comments, it's been great motivation to write whenever I had the brain capacity. :)

Padmé was fairly content with her life: Obi-Wan was back, Ahsoka was here, and everyone was happy and healthy and in a much better state than they had been a year ago. Her arm still gave her pain on occasion and she still couldn’t quite use it to lift anything heavy, but thanks to Brato it had healed nicely.

Padmé was enjoying having Ahsoka around. The young Togruta had decided that the twins were the greatest things she had seen all year and spent a lot of time hanging about with the pair of them. She was clearly avoiding Anakin, but that wasn’t entirely surprising. It would likely take some time and a good talk for them both to relax with one another again. 

Padmé had also been pleased when Obi-Wan had nervously listened to their proposal instead of running off on them. He seemed…calmer than before and a bit more settled within himself. He’d listened and excused himself to think, which Padmé thought was a good idea; she didn’t want him to make a hasty decision that he would later regret. She then got to enjoy watching the boys dance around each other for the first few days and it was a truly entertaining experience. Mainly because she got to watch Anakin’s efforts in restraining himself from harassing Obi-Wan which involved _a lot_ of staring. She remembered that from Anakin’s ‘seduction’ of her as well and it amused her no end to see it turned on someone else. At least Obi-Wan was taking it well.

Padmé, personally, wasn’t worried about it. If Obi-Wan wasn’t interested then he would have flat out told them ‘no’ after the first conversation; he was not the sort of person to drag them along like that if he really wasn't interested. The fact that he’d asked to _think about it_ , to Padmé meant ‘yes, but probably with stipulations’. It didn’t stop Anakin worrying and _staring_ because he was looking at the situation emotionally rather than logically, but that wasn’t exactly new for him so she let him be. He wasn’t hurting anyone.

Once Obi-Wan had decided on exactly what he wanted, Padmé wanted to sit him down and discuss what _dating_ is really like. Obi-Wan may know Anakin, but she didn't think he knew dating, and he certainly doesn’t know what dating Anakin is like. Padmé figured it would be kinder to give him a few of her notes. She wanted this to work after all.

* * *

She knew something had happened when Anakin and Obi-Wan returned from what Anakin had hastily described as “‘saber practice’’ when he had darted out the door with his lightsaber in hand a few hours before. As much as Anakin was clearly not _trying_ to be obvious, he had an enormous grin on his lips and was a little redder about the cheeks than before. The hand-holding tipped her off to it… and also the fact that Obi-Wan had a small red mark on the lower part of his neck. _Gods_ Anakin was predictable.

When Obi-Wan disappeared into the kitchen to fetch them some water Padmé caught Anakin’s eye and waggled her eyebrows at him questioningly. Anakin nodded back hastily, the grin widening even further, and mouthing ‘talk later’.

Obi-Wan reappeared with a glass for the three of them, taking two trips back and forth into the kitchen before he sat on the other couch, leaving Anakin and Padmé on the other. The conversation had been a little stilted from Obi-Wan’s end, he was clearly a little off balance, but after a few minutes he relaxed again and the three of them talked amicably about water harvests and what they needed to get the next time they were in town.

“You know,” Padmé said slowly, her brain tripping over an excellent idea, “we should have a little party.”

“What for?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Well, the twins turn one next week, and you and Ahsoka are back, so why not?” Padmé elaborated. “As much as Luke and Leia don’t have much of a concept of time, I don’t think we should miss their life day.”

Anakin nodded. “That sounds good. I hadn’t realised we were that close to them turning one.”

They decided to have an early dinner and little private party in celebration, just the six of them, on the twins actual life day. Anakin and Obi-Wan decided that they were on decoration duty and would see what they could scrounge up from around the house and in town. Padmé volunteered to cook and decided that she would ask Ahsoka to help her. Ahsoka had adored all of Padmé’s cooking so far and had mentioned wanting to learn a few times, so Padmé thought it would be a good teaching opportunity. 

Decisions made, Padmé left Obi-Wan and Ani in charge of putting dinner together and went looking for the younger half of the household. 

She found the three of them in the twins bedroom; they were all asleep in a pile on the floor with toys scattered around them like a star chart.Ahsoka was on the bottom of the pile, flat on her back and snoring softly. Luke and Leia were both splayed over her torso, faces buried in her clothes and Gub still clutched loosely in Leia’s hand. Clearly all three of them had overdone it.

Padmé enjoyed the scene for a few moments before she decided she should wake them. She started tidying the room around them, picking up toys and blankets before putting them back where they belonged. She walked normally and waited for the noise to naturally wake the trio.

“Hey Padmé,” Ahsoka said blearily from the floor.

Padmé paused in placing a toy back into a crib. “Had a big day?” Padmé asked, turning to smile at Ahsoka who was still very much pinned to the floor.

“Apparently,” Ahsoka replied. “I think this was an attempt at getting them both to nap and somehow I got dragged into it as well.”

“They can both make a very convincing argument,” Padmé agreed and leant down to pick Leia up. “Let me help free you.”

Leia was limp in her arms for a moment before she wiggled and slowly woke up. Ahsoka took the opportunity to carefully sit up and cradle Luke so he didn’t fall. He too slowly woke up at the movement, blinking and frowning at Ahsoka.

Padmé explained that they needed feeding, shushing Leia as she grumbled about being awake. Ahsoka offered to help and they all returned upstairs. Feeding the twins passed without too much hassle, Ahsoka only ending up wearing a small amount of squashed manta pear on her lekku. Soon after, their own dinner was ready, and before long the twins were in bed and the four adults went their separate ways to their own beds.

Anakin bounded across the room and practically jumped into bed to lie beside her, leaning up on an elbow to look at Padmé properly. His eyes were shining and his free hand rested itself over her hip. 

“He said yes,” Anakin began without preamble, disbelief still hovering at the edge of his voice, “and we kissed and it was _great_ and I love him so much and I love you so much and—” Anakin buried his face in Padmé’s hair and let out an exhale of happiness before he began peppering the side of her face with kisses.

Padmé felt elated at his joy and turned her head to catch his lips as they darted in. They kissed for a few moments, Padmé humming a happy sound against his mouth, before Anakin pulled back, still grinning.

“That’s excellent, sweetheart,” Padmé said quietly, rearranging herself so she could cuddle in closer. “Now, given that he wanted time to think about it, I figure it was not an unconditional yes?”

“Oh. Yes,” Anakin said, seeming to focus himself and become a little more nervous. Padmé ran a hand through his hair to relax him. “He wants to take it slow and ease into it all, so he was thinking he and I try the whole relationship thing first, and then when he feels comfortable, try with you? Would that be okay?”

It was adorable how nervous he was but Padmé had completely expected something like this.

“Of course that’s okay. I understand,” Padmé assured him, continuing to stroke through his hair which was now getting _very long_. “I’ll find a moment to have a chat with him, but I think it’s a good idea. No objections here.”

Anakin visibly deflated, the sloppy grin returning to his face. “Oh good. I thought you'd be okay with it but I needed to check.”

“Good idea,” Padmé murmured into his ear, “very sensible of you.”

Anakin melted beneath her fingers and was practically purring. It made Padmé so happy to see Anakin happy. The last year and the years before had been so hard on them all that seeing Anakin so contented was just such a blessing. 

If only she wasn’t so bored.

Padmé missed her old life.

* * *

A few days later Padmé found Ahsoka sitting on the living room floor with the twins; Leia was propped on her lap, one hand cuddling Gub and the other petting Ahsoka’s lekku, with Luke standing beside them, watching a ship fly around the room. Padmé greeted the three of them, then sat down on the couch and picked up her knitting from the table. She’d nearly finished her second creation in time for the twins life day.

“You want a turn, Luke?” Ahsoka asked and pointed up at the ship.

“Ya-ya-ya,” Luke babbled in response, making grabbing motions at the little model. 

Padmé watched the ship carefully come down from the ceiling before Ahsoka caught it in her hand and passed it to Luke. He stared at it for a short time before it jerked to life in his hands and floated up again like a drunken pelikki. 

“So I take it Obi-Wan has said yes to whatever thing you seem to have proposed?” Ahsoka asked out of the blue.

Padmé smiled. “What makes you say that?”

“The dumb smile Anakin seems to be constantly wearing and the fact I caught them making out in the kitchen,” she grumbled.

Padmé had to laugh. “Yes, that would give it away.”

Ahsoka sighed. “It’s an image no amount of xenoboric acid will be able to scour from my eyes.”

“Oh dear.” Padmé sympathised; to Ahsoka it was probably like walking in on one’s parents kissing. It must all be a bit of a shock to her too and Padmé wondered if she was all right with the changes in their relationship. “Are you okay with it all?”

Ahsoka watched Luke continue to fly the ship around, slowly becoming less jerky in its movements.

“It’s a little weird, if I’m being honest, but it’s not like I hadn't ever noticed Anakin mooning after him on occasion,” Ahsoka said slowly before she shrugged. “You all seem happy though, and honestly I don’t think I’ve ever seen Obi-Wan _actually happy_ before, so yeah, I’m okay with it.” She flashed a grin at Padmé. “I just don’t want to have to see it.”

“That’s very fair,” Padmé agreed.

Ahsoka was quiet for a moment longer. “Can I get your advice on something, Padmé?”

“Of course.”

“It’s just…Anakin. I don’t know what to say to him,” Ahsoka said softly. “I thought he was dead. To be fair, I also thought you were dead and Obi-Wan was just a big question mark. Now I find out he went Dark Side and had rather an instrumental part in everything I’m trying to fix and…I just don’t know what to do or say to him.”

Padmé weighed up her thoughts. “Well, have a think about it and only have a chat when you’re ready. He loves you to bits Ahsoka, and he has noticed that you’re not feeling comfortable with him so I think he’s waiting until you’re ready,” Padmé said gently. “If you want to yell at him or cry or just glare at him for an hour straight, he’s going to understand why. Obi-Wan and I covered all of those and more within the first week after Mustafar; I don’t think you could do any worse than we did.”

“That’s good to know. It’s probably going to end up being yelling if I know us. We were always good at that.” Ahsoka chuckled. “Thanks, Padmé.”

“No problem.”

They both returned to their respective activities. Padmé began closing off the final opening of the little toy, nearly ready to find some stuffing or, as often ended up happening, spare scraps of wool and cloth to fill the little creature with. 

Padmé watched as Ahsoka attempted to help Luke control the ship, suggesting where he fly it next. Leia was watching the whole thing with deep interest, occasionally pointing up at it and muttering.

Maybe once Ahsoka and Anakin had sorted themselves out Padmé could suggest they go to a pod-race together. The season was just begining and she was fairly sure they’d both enjoy it.

“Are you going to train them?” Ahsoka asked suddenly. “In the Force, I mean.”

Padmé turned back to Ahsoka and put her knitting down. “They’ll probably need it. Anakin seems to be actively ignoring it—I don’t think he trusts himself—and I was going to ask Obi-Wan sometime soon but I keep forgetting.” Padmé pressed her lips together. “I don’t want them to be warriors or anything like that, but I also realise that we can’t just ignore teaching them.” 

Padmé sighed. It had been a thought that had been bouncing around her head ever since the twins first started moving objects around with the Force. It wasn’t something that _could_ go unchecked. Both children needed to know how to control it and, for now at least, how to hide it.

Ahsoka hummed thoughtfully, returning her attention to the twins.

“Why do you ask?” Padmé inquired.

“It’s just that…” Ahsoka trailed off before she shook her head and continued, “the Force is kind of yelling at me to do it?”

“Oh.” Padmé blinked. “Well. Do you want to?”

Ahsoka watched Luke ram the small ship into her shoulder as his shaky control slipped again. “Yes,” she said, “if you would be okay with that?”

Padmé sat forward, elbows on knees and spoke with surety. “Look. Of the three of you, I would quite honestly prefer it was you. Anakin and Obi-Wan are two very different extremes, neither of which I think worked out very well in the long run. _You_ are an excellent balance of them both; logical and emotional _and_ a wonderfully kind, sensible person.” Padmé smiled at Ahsoka. “I couldn’t think of anyone better.”

Ahsoka looked up from where Luke was trying to regain control of the ship. “Thank you,” she said quietly, “though I won’t be able to be here all the time. I still want to support the Rebellion.”

Padmé nodded and continued to smile. “I thought as much. I’m sure it will be fine. Besides, if there’s anything I can do to help with the Rebellion, do let me know. I want to help. ” 

Ahsoka smiled back. “I will keep that in mind. I’m sure Bail and Mothma will be thrilled to hear that. I can set up a call to Bail for you to talk about it if you like?”

“I would love that.” Padmé sighed. “I miss it. I want to do my job but I can’t ever go back without putting everyone in very serious danger.”

“Well, if _we_ have anything to say about it, Palpatine won’t be in power for long and you can come back,” Ahsoka said with conviction. “Besides, I think Anakin would love to be a live-at-home dad.”

She bobbed her head in agreement. “I think he really would, though if we do get to come back one day I’ll have rather a lot of people to apologise to.”

Ahsoka laughed. “Well it’s just getting secretly married…and having babies…also inadvertently faking your own death…yeah I could see how all that could cause problems.”

“Yes, well, My family is going to be rather upset with me.”

“I’m sure they’ll be more pleased that you’re not dead,” Ahsoka reasoned.

“A good point.”

Padmé and Ahsoka watched as Luke’s ship returned to it’s jittery course in the air around them, taking a path over his sister’s head.

“Leia, no!” Luke exclaimed suddenly redirecting the ship over his sister’s grasping hands.

Padmé frowned. Had he…?

“I didn’t realise Luke talked,” Ahsoka said.

“He doesn’t—or didn’t,” Padmé said, setting the knitting aside and sliding onto the floor. “You little terror. You father is going to be so disappointed he missed that. You couldn’t hold it in another few hours?”

“No!” Luke responded, sliding closer to Ashoka and attempting to climb into her lap on top his sister.

“Anakin is going to be thrilled anyway,” Ahsoka said and then shot her a sharp smile. “Want to take pictures when it happens?”

Padmé laughed. “An excellent idea. I think we have a holo-recorder somewhere in the pantry. I gave it to Threepio and he seems to put most things in there.” As much as Anakin had fixed him, he seemed to still be a _little_ glitchy at times, and, impossibly, was somehow more anxious than he had been. Most of the time, he and Artoo liked to hang out in the front yard and occasionally entertain the twins or go into town with Anakin.

Padmé picked Luke up off of a now very grumpy Leia and carried him into the kitchen and onward to the pantry, chatting inanely to him. 

“Let’s see where I put the recorder…” Padmé muttered and then nearly dropped Luke when his ship flew past her face. Fucking Sith hells she’d forgotten about that thing. “Luke,” Padmé said gently, “no scaring Mummy to death okay?” Luke just gurgled happily at her.

After a bit of searching she found the device and they returned to the lounge where Ahsoka and Leia were sitting, tossing Gub back and forth between them.

“Found it,” Padmé said and Ahsoka grinned back at her and the four of them lay in wait for Anakin and Obi-Wan to return from wherever it was they went to duel.

Ahsoka’s idea turned out the be incredible; Anakin was beside himself when he came home and he offered Luke a kiss only to be greeted with a joyous ‘No!’

Leia, not to be outdone, had whipped out a grumpy, "Daddy!"

Padmé nearly died from laughter. Watching Anakin’s expressions flip flop over variations of happiness and amazement, staring between his two children in hilarious delight as Padmé snapped shots, was amazingly fun. She suspected a lot of the photos would end up very blurry given how hard she had laughed. Ahsoka had to sit down, clutching her sides and guffawing in a very unladylike way. Obi-Wan just watched silently with a quiet smile on his face until Anakin dragged him to sit on the floor beside him and attempted to teach the twins ‘Obi-Wan’ which was not in any way successful.

* * *

The day of the party rolled around and Padmé found herself sitting in the centre of her bed attempting to wrap the two little toys she had made. She hadn’t been able to find any wrapping paper so she was using an old tea towel. It was a little depressing. She’d always hoped for so much better for her children. Being stuck on Tatooine was beginning to get to her, the conversation she’d had with Ahsoka seemed to have brought it all to the fore of her mind. It was a feeling that had been creeping up on her for the past few months, and she’d been pushing it aside with the knowledge that there was nothing she could do about it…but _now_ there was the Rebellion.

Having a year off just caring for her children and her husband had been _nice_ in the way that she hadn’t had any length of time off from her work for at least fifteen years. Now however, she was getting bored. She was used to _doing_ so much. Helping people who needed helping, standing up for those who were being mistreated, and just doing what was _right._ She missed it and Padmé could feel the knowledge of the cruelty of the Empire grating against her psyche. She _needed_ to do _something_. She wanted to _help_.

At least Anakin seemed happy about his situation; Ahsoka was right in the fact that he was just happy being a father and having his family around him. Obi-Wan was getting there; he seemed happier, and having time away had seemingly given him time to grieve and come to terms with more of what had happened. Anakin was also keeping him very nicely distracted.

It was terribly cute.

Watching Anakin flirt was a joy. He tried to always come across as confident and dashing, but somehow just kept being awkward. Obi-Wan seemed to find it endearing and would go along with it, watching the whole attempted seduction with warm eyes and a half smile. To be perfectly fair on Anakin though, Padmé thought that she too might trip over her own words too if given that look for too long. 

She’d given them both a little space for the first week to get used to each other. It was important to her that they developed their rhythm on their own without her getting involved. The both of them had taken to disappearing in the afternoon to practice with their ‘sabers—an activity Padmé hadn’t been able to decide if it was a euphemism or not, but they seemed to be taking the blades with them so perhaps it was a bit of both.

Besides that, her and Anakin’s relationship hadn’t changed at all and it pleased her. She still planned on cornering Obi-Wan for a chat though. He occasionally looked a little unsure about it all and she wanted to catch him before it became too big of an issue.

She looked at the toys still sitting unwrapped in her lap and sighed. They were at least very cute. Given Luke’s sudden fascination for spaceships (she blamed genetics) she’d knitted him a cargo freighter she’d found in one of Anakin’s books. For Leia she had made a smaller version of the gooberfish Ahsoka had brought her. Leia adored Gub, and Padmé thought she might like another one for the beginnings of a little gooberfish family. It also reminded Padmé of Naboo and she wanted Leia to at least have some knowledge of her mother’s home planet. Gods knew they all knew enough about their father’s now. 

Padmé looked up as she heard footsteps.

“Obi, do you have a minute?” Padmé called when Obi-Wan walked past her bedroom door. Now was as good a moment as any.

He reappeared in the open doorway, faintly dirty with sand and oil from the vaporators. “Yes I do.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, partly turned toward where she sat crosslegged in the middle. “What is it?”

“I just thought we should have a little sit down and chat,” Padmé said. “I know you know Anakin, but I thought you might like someone to talk to about dating Anakin. He can be a handful, but he’s completely worth it.” She shrugged, trying to keep the conversation light and helpful. She didn’t want Obi-Wan feeling like she was interfering. “I just want to help you with this transition.”

Obi-Wan stilled for a moment, looking up at her with an unreadable expression on his face before he smiled. “I appreciate that. I’ve had a few moments where I’ve felt a bit lost. I’m just not entirely sure what I’m supposed to do. The physical things I understand, but what else am I supposed to be doing here?” A frown had appeared at his brow and his hand strayed to stroke at the stubble appearing on his chin. “I’m just…not sure.”

Padmé thought for a moment. It made sense. This was a situation Obi-Wan hadn't really been in before. She remembered the first few times she’d attempted dating as a teenager before Anakin had reentered her life. She remembers it being rather awkward. Padmé decided to go for the basics.

“Anakin just wants to feel loved. As far as I can tell, you’ve been doing all the night things; spending time with him and responding positively to his advances, awkward and hilarious as they can be…So my main suggestion is to keep making time for him, he’s really not going to care what you do, but he appreciates the attention. Also I find praising him to be a very positive thing.” Padmé told him. “And I can’t believe I’m having this conversation out loud, but that goes for all situations. You will be amazed how well he responds to it. For whatever; little things, big things…when you’re intimate…if you follow me?”

Padmé could feel her ears going red. This was a conversation she had never thought she would have out loud. It was one thing to notice and misuse the fact that Anakin would melt at praise in bed, and another to explain it to Obi-Wan. He at least looked similarly embarrassed.

Obi-Wan took in a long breath. “I will…keep that in mind.”

“Please do,” Padmé said seriously.

They both looked at each other with complete seriousness before jolting into laughter at the exact same moment.

“I—I’m sorry,” Padmé choked out over giggles. ”This conversation—just feels so surreal.”

Obi-Wan had his hand over his mouth, covering his laughter, but still giving it away by the shaking of his shoulders and the sparkle in his eyes.

It took them a few minutes to regain composure, both having to not look at the other for the very real danger of starting the laughter all over again. They were both flushed pink and grinning stupidly by the time the pair of them calmed down.

“Okay, okay,” Padmé said, trying to refocus and not dissolve into giggles. “Oh Gods, that helped. Sorry Obi.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes crinkled beautifully. “I think we needed that. Oh dear me.”

“Ah dear….but seriously I completely meant what I said. Give it a try.”

Obi-Wan just nodded, lips pressed firmly together in a bright grin. When he could speak again he asked, “Any other tips?”

Padmé thought about it for a long moment… there had been something else…Ah!

“Oh yes, I’d also recommend trying to recognise when people are flirting with you if Ani’s around,” Padmé said thoughtfully. “I know you don’t meant anything by it, but now that you’re in this he’s not going to be happy about it if you flirt back. He can get rather…jealous.”

“I can imagine. He was always stroppy when I didn’t pay attention to him as a Padawan.”

“Mmmm.” Padmé scrunched her nose up. “He can get more than stroppy.”

Obi-Wan looked at her. “I take it there’s a story in there?”

“He… may have gotten into a few altercations with an ex-boyfriend of mine,” Padmé said slowly. “The first time was a recipe for disaster given I had to fake a relationship with him for a mission for your Council—”

“I remember that; the man from the Banking Clan?”

Padmé nodded. “Rush Clovis, yes. Ani and I even spent some time apart over his behaviour…both of their behaviours…” She sighed and rubbed her face. “I’m not…I’m not endorsing Anakin's behaviour, and I’m not suggesting you stop being nice to everyone just to stop Anakin from behaving badly…I just want you to be aware that it can be a problem.” She paused. “I don’t even really think it’s a jealousy thing?” Padmé finally continued, staring at her hands, more talking to herself than Obi-Wan anymore. “I think he just gets so _insecure_.”

“Insecure?” Obi-Wan asked, frowning.

She looked back up at him. “About his place in your life. For some reason he seems to think that he’ll be dropped at a moments notice…” Padmé sighed, struggling to articulate the thought. She waved it away. “Anyway, returning to my original point; I just wanted you to be aware that it can be a problem, and that if it happens, the best way I’ve found of refocusing Anakin is just reaffirming that you love him and you’re not about to leave him.”

Obi-Wan nodded, looking a little worn about the edges. "That makes sense."

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, sorry,” Obi-Wan said. “It’s a lot to think about. I’m really not very good at picking up on those kinds of things unless they they are beyond obvious. It's never been something I had to worry about.”

Padmé smiled at him and petted him on the knee. “At least for now, it’s just us out here and there’s not a whole lot of opportunity for much to go wrong, but it’s easier I tell you now than you accidentally stumble into it on your own when you’ve suddenly got an irate Anakin on your hands and you’re not quite sure how you got there or how to fix it. It took me quite some time to work out exactly what the issue was the first few times it happened.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “I appreciate it Padmé. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem; I want this to succeed,” Padmé said. “Now, I just wanted to check in with you as Anakin’s already talked to me; you wanted to wait on a relationship with me?”

“Ah, yes. I didn’t want to overwhelm myself,” Obi-Wan said, his fingers fiddling nervously with themselves. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“Yes of course! I think it’s very sensible,” Padmé said, leaning forward on her knees, a bright grin on her lips. “I can wait, and I can continue to flirt with you until then.”

Obi-Wan blinked. “You already were?”

Padmé tried to tamp down on her grin, and fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Very much so, sweetheart.”

Obi-Wan paused, his eyes staring into the middle distance as he thought about this statement. A tiny crease appeared in his forehead as he gave a small frown. It was terribly cute.

His eyes refocused. “You asked me to kiss you when you were in labor.”

She shot him a smile that was all teeth. “Not my most subtle moment, but I was rather stressed. Anyway, I wanted to ask, and feel free to turn me down, but would you be up for cuddles? I just thought it might be a nice place to start to ease you and I into this. We don’t have the same level of pre-established relationship, so I thought it might be a good way to close the gap.”

Padmé was pleased when he took a moment to think about it as well. So far, Obi-Wan seemed to be doing a surprisingly good job of—at least what appeared to be—listening to his feelings. Ahsoka had mentioned that she’d given him quite the talking to about it. It was a good change.

“Okay,” Obi-Wan said. “I think you’re right; we should at least start somewhere.” He paused as if weighing up a thought, before continuing. “Also, I would like that.”

“Lovely,” Padmé said. “Do you have any questions or thoughts you want to run by me before I need to go round up the children?”

Obi-Wan shook his head, a section of hair falling out of place and into his eyes. “No, but I will if I think of anything. Would you like a hand with them?”

“No, Ahsoka is my backup and I’m fairly certain Ani wanted your help with putting up the decorations.” Padmé leant forward and tucked the stray hair behind Obi-Wan’s ear before she poked her finger into his chest beside a grease stain. “Make sure you both put a clean shirt on; we’re trying to make this as classy as we can.”

“Of course.” Obi-Wan placed his hand over hers before bringing it up to his lips with a dazzling smile and a clearly well-practiced charm. His eyes were such a deep colour and Padmé watched the whole thing with hungry eyes. She was begining to suspect that what she had thought of as Obi-Wan flirting was completely wrong. This was not the idle pleasant smiles and warm eyes she was used to; this was fire and temptation and something terribly beguiling. 

Padmé felt warm all over and quickly decided that she needed to go find something else to do before she threw herself at him.

He gave her a sharp smile that told her he knew _exactly_ what he was doing before he let her go. “See you later,” he said brightly, stood, and vanished out the door.

She blinked after him for a long moment. Well, if that was the game he wanted to play with her, then he could _bring it._

Padmé shook her head and refocused. She needed to get the children and herself ready for their life day dinner. It wasn't going to be much, but she couldn’t imagine not doing anything. Padmé quickly wrapped up the toys in the tea towel and topped it off with a blue ribbon. She then threw on her cleanest dress and went hunting for Ahsoka and the tiny terrors.

She found the three of them plus Anakin laying on the floor of the lounge again. They really needed to keep expanding the house, it was beginning to get a little crowded; another communal area could be a good idea when they had the chance.

Padmé broke the silence, quickly dividing up tasks. “Ani, time to go get out of that dirty shirt and help Obi put up some decorations. Ahsoka, you’re with me; let’s go put something a bit nicer on these two and then check on how dinner is going.” She and Ahsoka had prepared it all a couple of hours earlier and it had been baking in the oven since then.

“Alrighty,” Anakin said, jumping up and giving her a peck on the cheek before vanishing downstairs.

Ahsoka and Padmé followed suit, scooping up the children and heading to the twins room. They changed them into clean clothes—a blue dress for Leia and a grey tunic for Luke—and Padmé gave Ahsoka a moment to do the same while Padmé brushed their hair. Luke made good use of “No” as Padmé removed the tangles in his hair. Leia joined in with liberal use of the phrase when it was her turn, but all four of them looked tidy and presentable by the time they retuned upstairs. 

Her first thought on entering the lounge again was that Anakin and Obi-Wan had done rather a good job. The whole room had been tidied up and they had strung a set of rather scrappy looking lights around the room, drowning the space in a warm, golden glow. They’d also attempted to decorate with ‘ribbons’, though they looked much more like the faded old bed sheets they’d found in a back cupboard a few weeks ago. 

Anakin and Obi-Wan were sitting on the couch, with Obi-Wan leant forward and fiddling with a plant cutting he’d apparently stuck in a tall glass. It was a small trimming, but it had a lovely orange flower blossoming off the side of a shoot. 

Artoo and Threepio were stood by the entry to the kitchen, both wearing stick-on paper bow-ties.

“Not bad,” Ahsoka said looking around the room. Her eyes fell on the droids. “Looking good, Artooie!”

“He looks pretty fancy, doesn’t he?” Anakin grinned. 

“Excellent job, both of you,” Padmé said, walking across the room and placing Leia in Anakin’s lap, and left a quick kiss on his lips. She gave Obi-Wan a pat on his knee on her way past. It might have been a little higher than strictly necessary but it was his own fault for starting it earlier.

Padmé finished checking on the roast and informed Ahsoka that it looked excellent and she had done a lovely job. Ahsoka looked thrilled, depositing Luke on Obi-Wan and trailing after Padmé. They poked at dinner for a few minutes longer before Ahsoka decided it was done. While it cooled on the bench they all sat around the couches and gave Luke and Leia their gifts.

They loved the knitted toys from their mother, both items being immediately cuddled; Leia carefully placed the new gooberfish with the original one, and quickly named him “Guboo”. Obi-Wan gave them both a picture book which looked to be about making friends and sharing; Padmé thoroughly approved. Anakin gave them both a rocking-bantha made from metal scraps and apparently real bantha hair, and Ahsoka, having given her presents to the twins the week before, covered them in kisses and set them up on the floor with their new things.

By the time dinner was cool enough to eat, Luke and Leia were having the time of their little lives, and the four of them sat down at the table. Anakin paused, lifting a cutting of vegetable to his mouth.

“You must be eighteen now, right?” Anakin asked, looking at Ahsoka.

“Yup, my life day was a few months back. Bail took me out for drinks,” Ahsoka said.

Padmé smiled. “He’s a good man.”

“Excellent. I shall go find that bottle of Corellian wine I stashed a few months back then,” Anakin said brightly.

“Where did you get that?” Padmé asked, turning in her seat to watch him go.

“Smugglers,” Anakin called from the kitchen. “They desperately needed their navigational system fixed so they paid me in wine and credits. They tried to pay me in spice but I gave them a very firm no.”

“That must be where Luke gets it from,” Obi-Wan said.

Anakin reappeared with a bottle. “Ha-ha, Obi-Wan,” Anakin responded, tone dry but still smiling.

He sat back down at the table and poured a glass for each of them. 

Padmé brought the glass up to her nose. “Oh, that’s nice,” she murmured. “They were not smuggling the cheap stuff.”

Anakin took a sip. “Tastes like wine to me.”

Padmé rolled her eyes. “One day I will teach you to appreciate a fine wine, Anakin.”

“You are welcome to give it another attempt,” Obi-Wan said, swilling his glass around. “I certainly tried my best and yet here we are.”

Ahsoka just snorted into her glass.

The rest of the dinner passed very pleasantly. Between the four of them the wine disappeared very quickly and heartily devoured the food. Both Anakin and Obi-Wan congratulated Ahsokaon an excellent meal, and she practically glowed from the praise. 

By the time the evening was winding down, the children had migrated from the floor to their laps; Leia had fallen asleep in her father’s arms and Luke was close behind, drooling into Ahsoka’s shirt and barely able to keep his eyes open. Padmé and Obi-Wan offered to tidy up while Anakin and Ahsoka carried the sleepy twins off to bed. 

“I think that went well,” Padmé said as she handed Obi-Wan a wet cloth to wipe down the table.

“It was a lovely evening,” he agreed. “You taught Ahsoka well.”

“She’s a quick learner.”

They cleaned the rest of the dishes in relative silence with Padmé occasionally humming a nameless tune. After, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, thanked him for helping clean up and they went their seperate ways to bed.

“So Obi-Wan turned on the charm for me today,” Padmé said to Anakin, pulling her nightgown onto her body. He was already tucked up into bed with his nose in what she suspected was another manual. “It was quite the experience.”

Anakin rolled over to face her, placing his book down. “The usual sort or the basically evil kind he saved for difficult diplomats?” Anakin asked.

“I do believe it was second one; it was…” Padmé let out a long breath, “oh it was something very promising.”

Anakin chuckled. “Definitely the second one then. I hated it when he pulled that one out during negotiations. It was very distracting and very frustrating. All I wanted to do was jump him but I was either his Padawan and— _can you imagine_ the talking to I would have gotten—or I wasn’t but _we_ were married and I would have thrown myself off a building before I did that to you.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Padmé chided him and climbed into bed. She didn’t like it when he said those kinds of things. She knew he was probably being serious too and that just made it worse. She decided to steer the conversation away. “Well, either way, _I_ very nearly climbed into his lap and if he thinks he’s had the final word on it all then he’s got another thing coming,” Padmé declared. “I am going to out-flirt him.”

Anakin laughed and moved so that he was snuggled up beside her. “I will enjoy watching you both try.”

* * *

Ahsoka cornered her a couple of days later with a comm number on a scrap of paper. “Bail can take your call now on this number. Use Artoo and not the relay in the lounge. It’ll be safer.” 

Padmé nodded and went in search of the astromech. Padmé found him in the twins room showing them holo-recordings of flight formations. Both were sitting in their cribs, Luke staring at the projection in wonder and Leia turned at the door opening, crying out, “Mum!”

“Hello Leia, my love, are Luke and Artoo boring you with his space ships again?”

Leia grumbled something under her breath. Padmé took it as a yes.

Obi-Wan appeared in the doorway. “It’s lunch time, young ones!”

Luke finally turned away from Artoo’s projections and said, “Yum!”

“Yes, yum time, Luke,” Obi-Wan confirmed tossing Padmé a quick smile. “Mind if I run off with them?”

“All yours. I was going to steal Artoo anyway to call Bail,” Padmé said.

“Say hello from me then,” Obi-Wan said and turned back to the twins. He gathered Leia into one arm and Luke into the other before vanishing out the door again murmuring to them both about how big they were both getting. Padmé smiled after the three of them before telling Artoo what she wanted. 

He whistled in the affirmative, followed her back into the main bedroom, and Padmé read out the comm number to him. Artoo quickly dialled it in and they both waited for the connection to go through. Padmé sat on the edge of the bed and was fiddling with her hair when Bail picked up, his face and torso flickering into view in crackly blue.

“Hello Bail,” Padmé said.

Bail grinned widely. “Hello my dear, how are you?”

“I am very well thank you; Obi says hello. How are you?”

“I am getting by; doing my best, fighting the good fight, those sorts of things.”

Padmé had to smile. “What have you been up to?”

He told her about how Coruscant was going and all that had transpired within the Senate, if rather summarised. The disappearances, the attacks, the fear-mongering, and the abuses of individuals rights horrified her. It sounded very much like the problems Obi-Wan had seen on Coruscant was evidence of the whole Galactic climate. Coruscant was clearly not an isolated issue.  Listening to him talk, she noticed how Bail looked more tired than she had ever seen him. The lines around his eyes had gotten deeper since she’d last seen him in person over a year ago. It felt good to be able to speak again, their last conversation had been so brief, though it had been understandable, but she’d missed him. She felt terrible that he looked so exhausted.

“Ever since he disbanded and re-organised the Senate, we’ve had very little power,” Bail said rubbing at his forehead. “All of us, the Senators, are glorified figureheads at best and hostages at worst.”

“That’s terrible. I remember Obi-Wan mentioning that it had all been disbanded shortly after the Empire took over,” Padmé said, thinking back over those first few nightmarish weeks.

Bail nodded, speaking softly, “He shut the whole thing down, claiming security risks, and then reinstated it all but with some very nasty changes to our rights, essentially taking our individual planetary autonomy away.” He shook his head. “Basically, the Emperor could decide to do just about anything, anywhere he likes, and there’s not a whole lot we can do about it. We try, but it’s like throwing a pebble into an ocean. We have emotional sway with the public, but not a whole lot of legal power.”

“That must be incredibly frustrating,” Padmé said.

Bail smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You have no idea. Ahsoka mentioned you wanted to help,”

Padmé nodded. “I’d imagine I can’t do a whole lot, but I want to be as helpful as I can.”

Bail was thoughtful for a moment. “What does the husband think about it?”

“The husband hasn’t been told yet, but he will be, and I will do it regardless of what he or Obi-Wan thinks about it, as ever,” Padmé said firmly.

Bail smiled, “I see you haven’t changed.”

“If you think me being on a far off planet, being married and having children is going to stop me from helping tear down a galactic dictator, then you’d be dead wrong, Bail,” she informed him.

Bail chuckled, looking far more like his old self. “I’d expect nothing less, Padmé. The holo Obi-Wan showed me off your children was very cute.”

“I didn’t realise he had one,” Padmé said. “But yes, Luke and Leia are very beautiful. I’d introduce you but Obi-Wan just took them off for lunch”

“Another time then. I do have one thing to ask you if you want to help,” Bail said.

“Go ahead.”

“We need safe-houses for our rebels. I’m setting up a selection around the galaxy to help protect those willing to support us. Would you all be willing to be an emergency safe-house? Obviously I would never send anyone whose loyalty I was unsure of, and it would really be as a final resort, but you’ve done an excellent job of being off the grid—I honestly have no idea where you are—plus you can all protect yourselves and believe in what we do.”

Padmé nodded slowly. She didn’t think it was a terrible idea but it wasn’t just her home. “I’ll speak to Obi-Wan and Anakin and see what they think.”

“Of course,” Bail answered. “I don’t want to cause problems. How are they both?”

Padmé launched into a brief summary of their last year (carefully stepping over the worst of what happened a year ago) and all that had transpired. She gushed at Bail about the developments in their relationships and how Obi-Wan was slowly becoming part of her and Anakin’s relationship. Padmé let out all her thoughts and worries and joys and fears into Bail’s waiting ears until she just ran out of words. The silence stretched for a moment.

“I take it you haven’t had someone to bounce thoughts off of for a while,” Bail said, a smile lifting the corner of his lip.

Padmé took a deep breath, not having realised how off track she had gone. “Not really. Sorry Bail, I didn’t mean to go off like that.” 

“It is perfectly fine, I enjoyed hearing about what you’ve been up to,” Bail said. “I’m also glad to hear that Obi-Wan is doing something for himself for once. He seemed a bit lost on Coruscant. Also congratulations, I tried it on once but I think it went over his head.”

“Hah!” Padmé laughed. “It _has_ been an excessive in persistence, but we’re getting there. How is Breha?”

“She’s very well, thank you,” Bail said, ginning. He told her all about how Breha was managing Alderaan and keeping the people as calm as possible. They were still having no success with conceiving but they’d decided to put it on hold until the galaxy wasn’t such a disaster. Padmé had agreed it was a good idea.

She wished she’d had a bit more control and her babies hadn’t been so unexpected. She loved it, loved them, but there had been a few weeks before Anakin had returned from the front line where she’d thoroughly freaked out at the discovery. She’d decided to keep them because the war appeared to be winding down and she thought it would all be okay. She’d also hoped it would convince Anakin to leave the Jedi and stay with her after he war was over. 

Then it had all gone a little sideways.

She wanted to do anything she could to help get her life back and get the galaxy in order again.

“It has been amazing to talk to you, Bail,” Padmé said.

“You as well. I cannot put into words the relief I felt when Obi-Wan said you were not dead,” Bail said soberly. “Worst week of my life.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“It’s fine. I understand. You had nothing to do with it anyway. Just another excellent reason to despise our illustrious leader,” Bail said. 

There was a moment of silence.

“I had better let you go. I have a meeting to get to soon,” Bail said, glancing off to the side. “Think about my proposal and I will have a look into anything else you can help us with. I think I have some documents you could look over; I’ll send them through to Artoo for you once I find them. Stay safe, Padmé.”

“We will. You too,” Padmé said, giving Bail a final short wave.

He waved in return before the connection cut.

It felt good to have a bit of purpose again.


	18. Seduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My posting schedule has gone to shit but time is an illusion so thats my excuse and I'm sticking with it. Anyway, Happy New Year!!!! Have some fluff and porn :)
> 
> As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Obi-Wan had been back on Tatooine for nearly a month now. The household felt stable and everything had been pretty quiet since he had returned, so he was feeling more secure about his decision to return and was enjoying being back.

The twins life day party had been a lovely evening. Everyone had been relaxed, the food was excellent, and the wine Anakin had pulled out had been _exquisite_. It was a luxury he’d forgotten he’d enjoyed. The twins themselves seemed thrilled by their gifts and over the last week or so spent a lot of time on the rocking-bantha Anakin had made them. 

The pair were becoming truly bright and vibrant in the Force, their abilities seeming to grow as they did. Both were particularly enjoying the company of their new sister, who was near constantly covered in the tiny crawlers. Ahsoka mostly spent her time with Padmé, and Obi-Wan had no idea what they talked about and thought it best not to pry for now. Ahsoka still seemed a little uncomfortable about the whole situation and she hadn’t quite warmed back up to Anakin yet, which given everything that had happened, wasn’t exactly surprising. They’d both come around eventually.

Luke and Leia had also added a few words to their vocabulary. Now that they were talking it seemed they couldn’t be stopped. ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ were staples, as was ‘no’ and for some reason ‘clanker’. Obi-Wan was unsure if Ahsoka or Artoo’s holo-projections had taught them that one, but anything metal was now a clanker. Threepio had been very insulted the first time they’d called hm that. They’d also learnt to call Ahsoka, ‘Soka’, and had named their rocking-bantha ‘Rocky’ for rather obvious reasons.

They still had no success with ‘Obi-Wan’ which was rather disappointing but unsurprising.

Ahsoka seemed to be doing well aside from the whole Anakin thing. While she mainly socialised with the twins and Padmé, she would occasionally find time to chat with Obi-Wan. Ahsoka would usually join him on his vaporator rounds, initially to learn more about them, but it then became more of a routine to catch up with one another. 

They often discussed the rebellion and what her plans were for the future. She and Bail had decided that she was to stay with them until a suitable post or mission appeared, as they were currently safe on Tatooine. One afternoon she’d confided in him that she’d stolen her old ‘sabers back from the vaults in the Temple, as well as the entire collection of kyber crystals.

Obi-Wan frowned. “How did you manage that? They were sealed with a code that only Councillors had.”

Ahsoka had given him a guilty smile. “You took me in there once and I happened to see the code and my brain accidentally memorised it? Figured it was better than letting them get looted like everything else. Now I’m glad I kept them out of Sidious’ slimy fingers.”

He shook his head at her behaviour but remarked, “A wise decision, Ahsoka.”

“Thanks. I thought so,” she said, smiling before shaking her head. “I just want to do right, Obi-Wan. I can’t stand what Sidious has done to the galaxy.”

Obi-Wan could do nothing but nod; he felt that same feeling deep in his bones. What Palpatine had done, how he had used and manipulated them to destroy everything good they had ever worked for infuriated him. Obi-Wan felt like he should do something. Bail and Ahsoka had both suggested that he join the Rebellion and help make a difference, and so far, Obi-Wan was leaning towards doing just that. He couldn’t just stand by while this happened. He couldn’t. He’d have to discuss it with Padmé and Anakin first though.

At his silence, she continued hesitantly. “Also, Padmé said I can train the twins. What do you think?”

Obi-Wan thought about it for a moment. It had completely slipped his mind that that was something that had to happen at some point. Ahsoka teaching them seemed like a fine idea to him. She was a highly skilled and clever young creature and it wasn’t as though she’d be giving them the full Jedi treatment. He highly doubted Padmé would consent to that…and there wasn’t much point given there was no Order anymore.

Obi-Wan nodded finally. “I think that’s a lovely idea, assuming of course it’s what you want?”

“It is,” Ahsoka said determinedly, steely blue eyes staring into his, “it’s what the Force wants too.”

“Then there you go,” Obi-Wan replied. “Though if you ever want any help, I’d be happy to oblige.”

Ahsoka smiled at him. “Thanks, Obi-Wan.”

After that she would often pepper him with questions about the best way to go about teaching the twins this or that, though overall she seemed to have a good grasp of it all. The twins loved her anyway and Obi-Wan thought that it was all she really needed for now. The tricker stuff would come when they were older and opinionated and were no longer thrilled by Auntie Soka’s game of ‘fly the ship through the ring’.

He’d offered for her to join him and Anakin in their saber training, but she’d just made a face at him. He wasn’t entirely sure what the face was about, but he let it go for now. Besides he was still certain that she would be able to destroy them both.

Lightsaber practice in general was going well. After they disappeared into the cave for the third time Anakin had had enough and dragged along a few strings of lights and a jury-rigged generator. To be perfectly fair it _had_ been tricky practicing in the dark with the contrasting blazing glow of their blades. It left bright echoes of the light burned into his vision for a long while afterwards so the lights were a welcome addition.

They had been improving slowly, both of them regaining lost stamina and rebuilding old muscles bit by bit. They would both still be winded after going through the Katas and work up a serious sweat, but it was a good kind of pain. Obi-Wan was still just damn proud of himself that he was able to duel against Anakin without sliding back to Mustafar. On occasion it would try to press itself forward in his mind, but he’d become rather good at letting it go or asking Anakin for a break until it passed. Anakin was always obliging and would always sit quietly beside him with a hand on Obi-Wan’s knee or hand as quiet support. Obi-Wan thought that this was the best their relationship had ever been. 

Anakin also liked to use their excursions as a chance to get Obi-Wan alone and do a little bit of seducing. His current tactic was to see if he could disarm Obi-Wan and steal a kiss.

“It’s an exercise in speed and dexterity,” Anakin had argued the first time, a dazzling grin on his face.

“I bet it is,” Obi-Wan had quipped back. “But now that I know about it you’re going to have to work twice as hard, my dear.”

Anakin had taken up the challenge with delight. 

Obi-Wan…still had moments of crisis over the whole thing, his mind running over his choice time and time again in his mind like fingers over an old scar. Had he made the right choice? Was this all actually okay? Wouldn’t it all just end in disaster? Most of the time Obi-Wan would calm himself, feeling fairly confident that it was the right choice, it was okay, and it would struggle to end in a worse disaster than the one he’d averted a year ago, so the bar was pretty low.

Doubts aside, Anakin was proving to be a very diligent and caring partner, if rather intense (though Obi-Wan wasn’t exactly surprised as Anakin had always been a very passionate individual). Also very physical, but he wasn’t exactly complaining about that. Obi-Wan just kept waiting for the Jedi Council to pop up behind him and make disapproving sounds. Or rather, the imaginary Council in his mind _did._ Obi-Wan was choosing to ignore it. Them. They could tut and mutter about attachment and inappropriate behaviour all they liked, Obi-Wan was _happy._ It took him a whole two weeks to admit it to himself, but he was.

So far, Anakin had been very considerate and hadn’t pushed Obi-Wan too far outside his comfort zone. There’d been kisses and cuddles aplenty, some a bit more rough and needy than others which had culminated in having to think about performing vaporator maintenance very intensely until he managed to will himself back under control.  Padmé was also proving to be far more devious than he had originally thought she was. Obi-Wan had been grateful for Padmé going out of her way to have a chat with him about Anakin and their relationship. It was certainly…awkward in places, but it had been helpful. He thought that her suggestion of stepping into their relationship in a more low-key fashion was a good one—also he found her very attractive. 

Obi-Wan had then made a tiny misstep; he’d tested the waters with a kiss on the hand and a flirtatious smile he knew worked from previous misuse in negotiations. He immediately realised his mistake as he watched her eyes go very dark, flickering from lust, to surprise, to a very focused and determined stare, and in the moment he knew he’d started something he could never win. He'd done what any self-preserving being would do in that situation; he ran away.

Padmé of course did not let it drop and strangely enough, Obi-Wan didn’t mind. It was, for lack of a better word, _fun._

He nearly missed her first few advances which involved some casual touching, before she evidently decided to step it up a little and just sat down on his lap one afternoon. Padmé did so casually, happily chatting away to Anakin who was sitting at the table with Obi-Wan, tinkering with some piece of machinery, before she situated herself on his knees halfway through her sentence.

Obi-Wan had floundered briefly, sending a wave of panic and surprise along his bond to Anakin by mistake. His hands fluttered for a moment, unsure as to what to do with them, before he gingerly set them on her lap, arms lightly encircling her.

Anakin looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh ay the whole thing; mouth pressed closed and suddenly very engrossed in his work. Padmé had just continued chatting as though nothing had happened. In revenge Obi-Wan had very softly caressed her thigh with his thumb. Given the little stutter in her speech when he began, he counted it as a win.

After that Obi-Wan decided that he would try and play this game with her. 

He’d offered to do her hair a few times, spending a couple of long sessions with his fingers tangled in her curls.

“I didn’t realise you were any good at this kind of thing,” Padmé had said, nearly purring as he pulled his fingers through her hair, eventually planning on twisting it into a loose but fashionable bun.

“I spent a decent amount of time with the younglings in the Temple. I learnt quickly.”

Padmé smiled. “We’d best not waste your talents then.”

She’d retaliated by just constantly touching him. A casual hand here, a kiss on the cheek there, an occasional tap on the arse; it seemed very casual, but she always lingered a little longer than strictly necessary, would always rub a little circle into his skin and toss him a cheeky smile. It was as endearing as it was infuriating.

Flirting, Obi-Wan had decided—specifically flirting for the actual joy of it and not to manipulate negotiations or gain needed information—was actually highly enjoyable. It was also quietly building _something_ between them and he distantly wondered which of them would break first. 

Anakin watched the whole thing with clear but quiet interest. 

* * *

Padmé and Obi-Wan were relaxing in the lounge. Ahsoka had vanished downstairs with the twins to play (or possible train) again. Obi-Wan sat on the couch just meditating while Padmé  curled up beside him, the left side of her body pressed up against him while reading a book. 

It was nice. Padmé was very warm, smelt almost like vanilla cakes, and her presence was incredibly soothing. Her emotions leeched into his meditation, but they were so relaxed that they just floated by without issue. 

He’d never really realised quite how much smaller she was. Padmé had always had such a big personality and presence, but now that she was snuggled up beside him he noticed just how slight she was. Her skin was also very soft. His hand was resting on her knee, index finger carelessly stroking—

There was a sharp knock at the door. 

Padmé looked up from her book and glanced at him. He didn’t think they were expecting anyone? He shook his head at her in return. Ahsoka was downstairs with the children and Anakin had gone into town to do some repairs and wasn’t expected back for another hour. 

Hm.

Obi-Wan stood up and walked over to the door, first picking up one of the hand-held blasters kept by the door and levitating it across the room to Padmé. He watched her shove the weapon beneath the pillow beside her and resumed looking as casual as she could muster. 

She nodded to Obi-Wan and he opened the door.

“‘Lo,” the green Klatoonian at the door said, smile wide and sharp around his teeth. He was flanked by three other beings: a Rodian and two Weequays.

“Barada,” Obi-Wan said, forcing a smile on his face, “how nice to see you again.”

“How’s the property going for you?” Barada asked, standing with his hands on his hips, staring around the house and yard.

“It took some work, but now it is a good home. Has the ship served you well?”

“Yeah, thing’s a beauty,” Barada said and turned to the Rodian. “Greedo, why don’t you go inspect that vaporator. Check it’s up to code.”

“What can we do for you today?” Obi-Wan asked and watched the Rodian referred to as ‘Greedo’ walk slowly toward the nearest vaporator. Obi-Wan had ten credits on exactly what he was about to do. Criminals like this were rather predictable. A threat here, a display of violence there…

“Just visiting to collect your ownership tax for the year,” Barada said.

“Of course. Would you like a drink?” Obi-Wan offered. He was going to be polite and not do a single thing to put anyone at risk. Especially the twins. He could easily play the part of cowed moisture farmer for them.

Barada nodded and stepped heavily into the house, Obi-Wan carefully sidestepping to let him in. The other three remained outside, Obi-Wan closed the door and went to fetch their visitor a glass of water.

Padmé gave the Klatoonian a small wave. “Hello. We meet again.”

“You seem smaller. Babe survive?”

Obi-Wan watched the flicker of horror on her face that that was his _first_ question. It said terrible things about the mortality rate of babies on this planet.

“Yes. We had twins, both are fine thank you,” Padmé replied. “They’re having a nap currently.”

Barada sat at the table and Obi-Wan placed the tall glass before him.

“Lord Jabba would also be interested in meeting with Seripas. He has a few things that need seeing to,” Barada said, picking up the glass and swirling the water within it. “He would of course be well rewarded.”

There was no way that was ever going to happen. Anakin would more likely kill Jabba than help him. Also, Jabba knew all of them, going anywhere near him was just asking for trouble.

“Seripas is very busy, hence why he’s not here right now, but I will mention it to him,” Obi-Wan assured him.

Barada nodded. “So. The tax?”

“What do we owe you?”

“Two peggat.”

Obi-Wan didn’t conceal his wince. That was not a cheap bribe. They could afford it, but he didn’t want Barada knowing that. He had to put up at least some resistance. 

“That’s quite the sum,” Obi-Wan said.

“Hmm, but from what I hear, Seripas is doing rather well so we think it’s a reasonable request. Wouldn’t want to spurn Lord Jabba’s kindness. Doesn’t end well.” Barada’s eyes lingered at the door where sounds of destruction could still be heard. 

Bantha shit it was reasonable, but Obi-Wan smiled regardless. “Of course. Aurra, if you would?”

Padmé nodded and disappeared downstairs. 

Padmé was gone for a good five minutes, likely warning Ahsoka and then having to scrounge up the required funds. Obi-Wan hoped they had enough, he didn’t want to have to take money to Jabba. Barada drank his water in silence. 

Obi-Wan just wanted them gone.

On her return, Padmé placed a bag on the table between them. “Sorry, it took some time to find enough, but it should all be there.”

Barada looked in at the contents of the bag before hefting it into his viridescent palm and seeming to weigh it.

“Feels right,” he said finally and levelled a dark stare at Padmé, “but it will be counted properly, so I do hope you have made the right decision.”

Padmé just nodded, her gaze evenly meeting his.

At that, Barada stood and made for the door, waving an uninterested hand in goodbye.

Padmé and Obi-Wan followed to stand at the door and watched the quartet climb back into their vehicle.

“See you next year!” one of the Weequays called, cackling darkly as the speeder took off back toward civilisation.

Obi-Wan let out a breath and they returned inside.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Padmé finally said half an hour later when both of them were sitting at the table, cradling a cup of tea in their hands. “I think we handled that rather well.”

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. “It certainly could have gone much worse—”

“What happened?” Anakin burst through the door. “I passed a speeder coming from here and the vaporator outside looks fucked, is everything okay?” Anakin was clearly panicked, panting and looking wild and windblown. His hands shook where they held onto the hem of his shirt and his jaw was tight.

Padmé shot Obi-Wan a quick look. 

“It was just Jabba’s men come to collect the yearly ownership tax,” Padmé said calmly and placed her tea on the tabletop.

“And you gave it to them?” Anakin asked, frowning.

Padmé nodded, standing up and crossing her arms. “Of course we did.”

Anakin scowled. “I can’t believe it. Jabba’s a dopa-maskey, karking worm kung!”

“What could we have done!?” Obi-Wan shot back, frustrated. 

“I don’t know! Said _no!?”_

Obi-Wan scoffed. “And what then, Anakin? Jabba and his men come for us, we inevitably defend ourselves, make some misstep and reveal what we really are, and then suddenly have the Empire bearing down on us? We chose to keep this family _safe!”_

“I know!” Anakin yelled back. He seemed to struggle for words for a moment before, to everyone’s surprise, he took a long breath and suddenly deflated. “I know,” he said quieter. “I just _kriffing_ hate it. We shouldn’t have to.” 

“We don’t like it either, Ani,” Padmé said stepping in closer and taking his hand in hers, “but it’s an unfortunate reality we just have to deal with for now.”

Anakin leant down and rested his chin on her head. “I know. You’re right.” He closed his eyes and just respired, seeming to take comfort from Padmé. "I just fucking hate Jabba."

Obi-Wan smiled understandingly at him. 

That had gone surprisingly well. Anakin had been able to back down from his anger; something Obi-Wan hadn’t seen in a long time. It was somewhat astounding. 

Obi-Wan sat for a moment longer, debating whether he should go when Anakin’s free hand suddenly extended and beckoned him over. He stood up from his chair and went to Anakin, taking his mechanical hand and twining their fingers together.

“Are you okay?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin’s blue eyes blinked open, much calmer than before. Obi-Wan felt a soft caress along their bond. “Yeah. I panicked. Sorry. ”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “You managed it well.”

Anakin pulled Obi-Wan in closer and kissed him. Obi-Wan could feel the gratitude and love Anakin felt for him and Padmé buffeting his shields. He lowered them partially and allowed himself to embrace it.

“This is a nice view,” came a low voice from beneath them. Padmé.

Obi-Wan pulled back turned his head to see her flirtatious smile grinning up at them. 

Anakin laughed and leant down, kissing her as well.

Now that Obi-Wan was allowing himself to think about it all and actually _feel_ it, he found Anakin and Padmé's interactions to be lovely to watch. Anakin was so gentle with her; always reverent and careful and so terribly loving. 

“Oh, speaking of,” Padmé continued immediately after Anakin pulled back, “Ahsoka is feeling a little bit traumatised by all this kissing her parents seem to be doing, so if we could all just keep it a little more private?”

Anakin let out a small laugh.

“When was that?” Obi-Wan asked. He didn’t remember Ahsoka interrupting anything…

Padmé shook her head. “You were clearly too engrossed in other things—about a week or two ago in the kitchen.”

“Oh.” That one. Yes. That had gotten a little out of hand.

Anakin groaned and his his face in Obi-Wan’s hair, seemingly embarrassed.

“You still need to talk to her, you know,” Padmé said, focusing on Anakin.

Obi-Wan felt a breath of air against his neck before Anakin reappeared. “Yeah. I’m working up to it.”

Padmé left a kiss on his cheek before giving Obi-Wan the same treatment. “Good boy. Now, both of you go see how badly those fuckers messed up that vaporator while I make us new cups of tea”

It turned out that ‘those fuckers’ had done quite the number on the moisture collector, but wasn’t irreparable. Some parts would need to be replaced, Anakin had muttered sourly, poking the blaster holes on the outer casing with his finger, but it was doable. Either way, grumping about it and then setting to fixing it up made Anakin distinctly less irritable. By the time Padmé called them in to tea, Anakin was making a fair effort at chatting him up. Somehow Obi-Wan ended up agreeing to go for a drive after dinner. Apparently Anakin had finished tinkering with the speeder yesterday and wanted to take it out. 

Wanted to scare the living daylights out of Obi-Wan more like.

* * *

“Ready to go?” Anakin asked after clearing up dinner and leaving Ahsoka and Padmé to relax.

Obi-Wan was very temped to rescind his acceptance as, judging by the glint in Anakin’s eye, he was going to drive like a madman. 

However, ever susceptible to Anakin’s blue stare, Obi-Wan agreed and they climbed in.

“Where to?”

Obi-Wan paused, thinking. “Somewhere with a good view.”

True to his prediction, Anakin had a lovely time testing the limits and capabilities of the modified speeder. He initially took them across the plains, discovering new speeds that both the speeder and Obi-Wan’s heart could reach. After that, Anakin turned them back towards the mountains, occasionally putting them into a spin, laughing like a maniac the whole time. 

“It seems to work fine,” Obi-Wan said breathlessly once they were driving normally again.

Anakin just flashed him a very smug grin.

Eventually Anakin followed a ‘road’ up a ways into the canyon and found them a plateau to park on. Thankfully he drove that route carefully as the path was riddled with holes and there was a rather steep drop off one side. 

Once parked, the pair of them sat on the back bonnet of the speeder, staring out over the desert. Obi-Wan could feel the waning heat of the sun as it sunk closer to the horizon. The metal of the speeder was warm beneath him and where his arm was pressed against Anakin. The skyline melted through a stunning display of colours; warm blue fading into orange with smatterings of purple.

For the first time, watching the day end on a hill on Tatooine, Obi-Wan realised that it was all over. The Clone Wars were over. Anakin was sitting beside him, whole and alive and firmly on the side of the light. Padmé and the children were safe and happy, Ahsoka and Bail were alive and fighting for what they believed in. He and Anakin and Padmé were starting something new together and everything was relatively _okay_. Sure there were still problems, but they were _alive_. They’d _made it_.

“Oh,” he exhaled, taking in the sensation of his body finally, actually relaxing. His muscles loosened and his body slumped slightly. He could feel the rush of endorphins that swamped his body. Force, it felt incredible.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked, head turned to look at him.

He took a deep, wide eyed breath, staring back at Anakin. “We’re okay, aren’t we?”

Anakin blinked. “I—Yes?”

He let out the breath, eyes closing in relief. “We’re okay. We made it.” Force, how had it taken him this long to realise it?

He felt the speeder dip as Anakin moved and his voice was hesitant when he spoke. “We did, Obi-Wan, we’re fine.” He felt a hand cup the side of his face. “Are you okay?”

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and smiled brightly, his eyes feeling watery. “Yes, I rather think I will be.”

He leant in.

Obi-Wan felt the quick inhale from Anakin when their lips met, before he was being kissed back, the hand on his jaw sliding further back into his hair. Anakin was much gentler than usual, lips soft and undemanding. Obi-Wan’s hands slipped to tangle their fingers together. Slowly, Obi-Wan increased the pace, from the long, sensual kisses that were making his heart melt, to quick little bites and licking into Anakin’s mouth, enjoying the breathy gasps that would escape his lips.

He felt a gentle push at his chest pressing him backwards. Obi-Wan opened his eyes and pulled away, allowing himself to be moved until he lay flat against the metal of the speeder, staring up at Anakin. He was lit up. A glowing smile sat on his wet lips with a matching luminous stare. The glow of the sunset illuminating his silhouette, hair shining a burnished gold around the edges. It was absolutely too much.

“Beautiful,” Obi-Wan said, a hand reaching up to finger Anakin’s hair. Anakin’s expression softened and he leant closer to Obi-Wan before he swung his leg over Obi-Wan’s body, hovering above him with eyes as dark as wild space. 

“Is this okay?” Anakin asked, voice low and breath brushing his face.

Obi-Wan smiled and pulled him down, muttering, “Perfect.”

He felt like his chest would burst. Heat and love and passion rushed through him, electric and desperate. Obi-Wan moaned quietly, a gentle rumble in his chest, as his fingers tightly wound through Anakin’s curls. 

His breathing was ragged when Anakin pulled back.

“Come here.” Obi-Wan tugged Anakin down so they lay beside one another, Obi-Wan on his back with Anakin on his left side, tucked in against Obi-Wan with a leg still thrown over him. It was warm and intimate, staving off the slowly descending cold.

Anakin and Obi-Wan lay there, their fingers intertwined, and watched the early night sky rotate above them. A few stars shone brightly in the now near darkness with only the light from the dashboard of the speeder lighting the desert around them.

“This is all so much better than I had ever imagined it being,” Obi-Wan admitted to the darkness and stroked his thumb over Anakin’s warm skin.

There was a considering hum beside him. “You thought about this?”

“Not for a long time,” Obi-Wan sighed, the words slipping out, “and only the once.”

Anakin was suddenly sitting up and leaning over him again, his legs returning to their position of straddling him. “A long time ago?”

“Yes.” He could feel an embarrassed flush crawl up his neck to his cheeks, thankfully it was most likely hidden by the darkness.

“When?”

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together and Anakin waited patiently for him to speak. After a few moments, he settled on, “It would have been… a year or so after your Knighting.” 

Surprise flashed across the face above him, eyes wide and fascinated, drinking him in. “What?”

“Somewhere during the first Ryloth campaign, I realised you weren’t a child anymore and that you weren't my Padawan anymore…That I loved you.” He reached up and stroked his fingers though Anakin’s hair, falling gently beside his face. “You were competent and strong and clever… and very beautiful.” Obi-Wan’s fingers trailed along his jaw.

“Why didn’t you…?” Anakin asked, disbelieving. 

Obi-Wan glared up at him. “You were married, I wasn’t going to ruin that. Plus, the whole situation smacked of attachment on my end, and you know how I felt about that. I pushed the whole thing from my mind for a long time.” Repressed it more like.

“You knew about Padmé?”

Force help him. 

He rolled his eyes. “Anakin. As amazing as you are, _subtle_ , is not really on your list of qualities. I knew you were married, the Council knew, the clones _definitely_ knew—blind gundarks knew.”

“The Council? Did you…?” A slight waver had made it into Anakin’s voice.

“No,” He assured him. “They perhaps didn’t realise you were _married_ , but they sure as Sith knew you and the Senator had something going on between you. There’s only so many ‘secret’ romantic dalliances in public or consecutive sleepovers away from the Temple a person can have before someone notices.”

“Why didn’t they ever—I thought—they never said—” 

“They couldn’t.” Obi-Wan stroked his hand over the back of Anakin’s head, slow and soothing. “We couldn't be seen to know about it, we couldn't be seen passively endorsing it. You also weren’t the only Jedi seeking comfort in love from the war.”

“Then why allow it to go on?” Anakin was looking at him like he held the answers to the universe.

“We allowed it for all during the war because they were extraneous circumstances. Everyone was stressed and scared and scattered across the galaxy with more of us dying each day and…it helped people cope. The Council just seemed to collectively decide that we had more pressing matters than a selection of Jedi getting too attached to a lover.

“I only ever had the one conversation with Master Yoda about you, after you went to him about your dreams. We thought that once the war was over, or once the children were born, you would likely choose to leave the Order.” He pulled at a strand of hair. “But while we were at war, you were invaluable and we couldn’t afford for you to go; to let anyone go. It was selfish of us—of me. I realise I should have said something to you, and I’m sorry.” Obi-Wan let out a sigh. “I had just _hoped_ you’d tell me yourself one day.”

“So you knew the whole time?”

“Since Genosis.”

Anakin’s face drooped and there was a deep silence.

“I should have trusted you,” Anakin said, though it didn’t sound like he was talking to Obi-Wan.

“Yes, well, I should also have said something.”

Anakin nodded and his eyes went distant and glassy, clearly thinking. There were a few minutes of silence before Anakin spoke again.

“So… this fantasy you had?”

Obi-Wan laughed and leant up for a brief press of lips. “I’m not sure I’d go so far as to call it a _fantasy_ —”

Anakin pouted at him.

Obi-Wan sighed dramatically. “Fine. It all started innocently. You’d checked in on me in my quarters as I’d managed to get myself hurt— I think I may have had a concussion? We had a brief chat, and then you left to check on Ahsoka.”

“Not unusual,” Anakin noted quietly.

“No,” he agreed, “but this particular day you’d managed to destroy a fair portion of your tunics; your tabards were missing and a you had great bloody tear in the under-tunic which had left a lot of your neck and upper chest exposed. You had dust and sweat streaked up and down your skin, your hair was wild and…you were an absolute sight.” He could feel the hot flush that dotted his neck intensify. “My very helpful, slightly concussed brain decided to provide me with stunning and sudden visuals of how it would have been to kiss up your neck.” Obi-Wan traced his fingers up the skin in question, eyes following their trail greedily. “I imagined how you’d taste and how you’d melt beneath me, allowing me to explore and pull sounds from your lips.”

Anakin hummed thoughtfully and pressed his head into Obi-Wan’s roaming hand.

“I then had a very long week of introspection and meditation as to _where_ that thought had even stemmed from and eventually realised how I felt. I then pushed it very, _very_ far away. Other than that, nothing else. I did my best to generally ignore it. Did you ever…?” 

He had to know. He didn’t want to know, and yet he did. Was this thing between them only new for Anakin? Was is just bred out of need and desperation? Was it temporary?

Anakin smiled, eyes dropping. “Often. Since I was seventeen.”

“You—?” Obi-Wan couldn’t even think of where to start with that admission. 

“I don’t think you have ever realised how beautiful you are. So smart and so terribly dignified.” Anakin’s voice was laced with dark promise. “It made me want to dishevel you in the worst way.”

“Oh?” It was barely above a whisper and embarrassingly breathy.

“Hmhmm.” Anakin leant down and bumped their noses together, whispering like it was a secret, “I wanted to fuck you until you couldn’t speak; I wanted to kiss every inch of you after you’d verbally destroyed a diplomat; I wanted you to fuck me on one of the sparring mats after you’d trounced me _again—_ ”

“Stop—” Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut, and pressed his hand over Anakin’s mouth, stemming the flow of words. His other hand clenched around the fabric at Anakin’s waist at the images that flooded his head, kindly being supplied by Anakin’s graphic descriptions and a gentle caress of their bond. Obi-Wan’s trousers were feeling much more constricting then they had been a few minutes before and he needed Anakin to _stop immediately_.

Anakin very deviously began kissing Obi-Wan’s hand, licking and nipping until Obi-Wan had to pull it away.

Anakin seized his opportunity. “I wanted to fuck you against this speeder before you left.” 

Obi-Wan groaned, hips canting up against Anakin’s unbidden, cursing him, “ _Sith hells_ , Anakin.”

Anakin just chuckled before latching on to the side of Obi-Wan’s neck and sucking hard, fingers slipping under Obi-Wan’s shirt and sliding along skin. Obi-Wan panted helplessly as he was overwhelmed with sensation. 

He tugged Anakin’s head up and pressed forward to kiss him, sitting up on the bonnet, Anakin splayed on his lap, still grinning madly. 

“That’s. Not. Fair,” Obi-Wan growled between kisses, his hands sliding down to grip Anakin’s arse, tugging him closer.

Obi-Wan felt a fire burning in his chest. His hands weren’t fast enough to touch every inch of skin on Anakin he wanted to, his mouth only able to kiss one part of him at a time. Obi-Wan pulled him as close as he could, with Anakin purring into his mouth, “Want you, want you, want you.”

It was as though a floodgate had opened in Anakin as well, his body constantly moving and flowing over his own. It was thrilling as it was terrifying and he couldn’t find a single desire within himself to stop.

Somehow, and without Obi-Wan realising it, Anakin managed to shuffle them backwards, until the world tilted around him. He let out a gasp as he fell into empty space, before landing in the backseat of the speeder. Anakin was grinning down at him, eyes black and lips wet.

Two could play at this.

“Done, are we?” Obi-Wan asked mildly, moving his hands to rest behind his head, casually watching Anakin. He suspected the erection he was sporting gave away his intentions, but it was always worth a go.

A feral grin spread across Anakin’s face. “Not even close.”

Then Anakin was on him again, clambering down off the back of the speeder and onto Obi-Wan. His mouth lapped at his neck, hands rucking up Obi-Wan’s shirt properly.

“I love you, Obi-Wan,” Anakin panted against his ear. “You’re not getting away so easily this time.”

Obi-Wan groaned, back arching at the fingers dancing over his chest and stomach. Anakin clearly knew what he was doing, Obi-Wan only managing a breathy, “All yours, darling.”

“Perfect,” Anakin said, pressing in for another kiss. 

Obi-Wan moaned into his mouth when he felt a hand slide along the front of his trousers. Obi-Wan leant into the grasping fingers, hands tightening at Anakin’s waist. 

“ _Anakin_.”

Anakin stilled, pulling back to watch him, evil smile still partly on his face. “Yes, Master?”

Obi-Wan shivered. “Please don’t call me Master.” He didn’t like the kind of power that gave him. He didn’t like how it sat with the connotations of Anakin’s past. He hated that he wasn’t the last person Anakin had called that.

Anakin frowned, but nodded. “Okay, sorry.”

“It’s fine, dear one.” Obi-Wan stroked his hand along the side of Anakin’s face. He really was stunning, face gently lit from the speeder display, eyes soft and warm watching Obi-Wan. “Come here.” Using one hand, Obi-Wan cupped the back of Anakin’s head and pulled him back down, a slow and tender kiss waiting on his lips. His right hand however, slid down Anakin’s chest and fumbled briefly with the button, before slipping in and grasping Anakin’s cock. Turnabout is fair play after all.

“Ah! Fuck,” Anakin gasped into his mouth. “ _Obi-Wan_.”

Obi-Wan just grinned into the kiss, lazily stroking Anakin. He took it slow to begin with, teasing him and enjoying the tiny sounds that escaped Anakin’s lips before slowly picking up the pace until eventually his lover was braced above him, fucking into his fist, eyes unfocused and blown black with lust.

“ _Obi-Wan, please_ ,” Anakin muttered between breaths, mouth now slack, “ _please, please…”_

“Please what, darling?” Obi-Wan purred quietly.

“ _Fuck me_.”

Obi-Wan froze as arousal hit him like a punch to the gut, a groan pulling at his throat. That was not the response he’d been expecting.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin seemed hesitant at his apparent silence and sudden pause in motion.

“ _Yes,”_ Obi-Wan hissed out, before drawing a calming breath. “Fuck, I would love to Anakin, but perhaps in a speeder, in the middle of the night, out in the desert, is not the best place?”

Anakin smirked at him, face flushed. “It’s the best place. No children to interrupt. Private. Quiet. Plus it gives Padmé and Ahsoka more time to catch up.”

“And the Sand People?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin groaned. “Ah…I forgot about them.”

“Let’s make this quick then,” Obi-Wan said quietly. 

Anakin kissed him fervently and Obi-Wan lost himself in the feeling, the warmth of love spreading through his chest. He danced his fingers gently along Anakin’s length, swallowing the small gasps coming from him. Given how riled up he’d been earlier, it was unsurprising to Obi-Wan how quickly he melted into him. Anakin was breathless with only his elbows keeping him from falling on Obi-Wan, Anakin’s mouth whispering nonsense into his ear.

Obi-Wan turned his head, increasing the pace of his strokes again and watched Anakin fall apart. His hazelnut hair fell into his face, eyes closed and mouth hanging open, his breath came in short bursts. 

“So beautiful,” Obi-Wan crooned at him, “such a good boy, come on, I’ve got you.”

“ _Ah,_ ” Anakin moaned and Obi-Wan felt hot spurts land on his stomach, feeling tremors all over Anakin’s body, as he came in his hand. Well. Padmé’s tip had been completely accurate. Obi-Wan tried not let the bubble of nervous laughter escape his chest.

Anakin’s breath was still ragged as Obi-Wan leant in, gently kissing the side of his face, murmuring, “Perfect, dear one.” 

Anakin was so warm, skin burning into his own, protecting him from the cold of the desert night. He had not seen Anakin so relaxed in such a long time, limp and pliant in his embrace. Slowly, Anakin regained cognitive function and turned, still draped all over him and smiled at Obi-Wan, before leaning in for a kiss.

“I love you,” Anakin said, eyes boring into Obi-Wan’s.

Obi-Wan smiled back. “Love you too.”

Anakin shifted, moving to sit up, then paused, eyes drawn back down as Obi-Wan sucked in a breath at feeling Anakin’s hips move and pressing against his erection.

“Oh,” Anakin breathed. “Well.”

Obi-Wan watched intently as Anakin grinned obscenely down at him, before slowly drawing back, fingers trailing along his chest. Anakin circled his hips slowly, and Obi-Wan felt heat flush his entire body, barely containing a moan and biting his lip. Anakin’s grin widened and he slid back slightly so he rested on Obi-Wan’s thighs.

Anakin was a sight to behold. His cheeks were still flushed from his orgasm, a pink tinge traveling partway down his neck and along his left collarbone. His normally bright blue eyes were a deep ocean blue in the darkness of the night, with only the speeders dash lighting him up. His hair was tousled all around him. He was, in a word, breathtaking.

While he was distracted, a hand slipped into his pants and wrapped around his cock. 

“You’re gorgeous,” Anakin said, reflecting Obi-Wan’s own thoughts back at him. 

He felt Anakin stroke his cock and slide his hips gently against Obi-Wan’s thighs. The sensation of the two pulled the air from his lungs, his head falling back against the seat, hands clutching at Anakin’s legs. Everything felt too hot and too much. He wanted…he just _wanted_ and it was burning him up from the inside; his chest was tight and he felt as though he was unable to suck enough air in.

“ _Fuck, Anakin,_ ” Obi-Wan panted, as Anakin settled into a pattern of strokes and rolls of his hips. He could feel Anakin’s eyes fixated on him, drinking Obi-Wan in, Anakin’s teeth caught in his lip as he watched. Obi-Wan could feel the tight coil in his belly, the sensory and visual input overloading his brain.

“Anakin, _please_ ,” he hissed, hips thrusting up against Anakin urgently, fingers curling in to a likely painful degree on Anakin’s thigh.

Anakin acquiesced, tightening his grip and twisting his hand perfectly until Obi-Wan felt the sensations crest. He sucked in a desperate breath as he came hard, thick streams hitting his stomach for the second time that night. Obi-Wan panted through the sensations with Anakin staring down at him with greedy eyes, completely engrossed. After, he felt completely limp and thoroughly overcome by it all.

Anakin leant forward and kissed him tenderly, a little happy hum on his lips. Obi-Wan’s mouth was sluggish in responding but he basked in the warmth of Anakin regardless. After a moment longer, Anakin pulled back and moved away before a coarse cloth gently moved across his stomach, removing the mess. 

“Thank you.” Obi-Wan pushed himself up, smiling at Anakin. It took a moment for his brain to catch back up fully and shook his head at himself, muttering, “So much for taking this slow.”

Anakin kissed his forehead and clambered into the front seat. “If this were anything like mine and Padmé’s relationship, we’d be married already.”

Obi-Wan resisted rolling his eyes. “Honestly, Anakin, I don’t know who trained you, because it clearly wasn’t me.”

Anakin just laughed. “We should go home.”

“It is rather late,” Obi-Wan agreed and followed Anakin into the front, sliding into the passenger seat.

He stared out the side of the vehicle at the blackness of the desert night, only a few distant lights twinkled on the horizon. The speeder rumbled as it turned on. When they didn’t move for another minute, Obi-Wan turned to look at Anakin, questioning.

Anakin was just watching him, a soft smile on his lips.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin blinked back into focus. “Thank you, Obi-Wan, for choosing to stay. For choosing us.”

“I’ve always chosen you.” Obi-Wan smiled back and then paused, pressing his lips together thoughtfully. He wanted to be honest, but didn’t want to disappoint Anakin. Deep breath. “I don’t know what my plan is for staying.” He watched insecurity slip into Anakin’s expression and a tight feeling of worry slid along their bond. Obi-Wan reached his hand across the space and stroked his hand along Anakin’s cheek. “I want to stay, dear one, never doubt that, but I still have a duty to the galaxy.”

“A _duty_ ,” Anakin argued, “but Obi-Wan—”

“I know the Jedi are gone,” Obi-Wan cut in, “but _I_ can still do good. I can’t just stand by while Sidious destroys everything I have ever worked for.” He smiled. “I want the galaxy your children grow up in to be safe.”

“You’re too good, Obi-Wan,” Anakin responded. “Have a think about what you want to do then. Between the three of us I’m sure we can work something out.”

Anakin, deciding the conversation was over, hit the speeder into gear and took off into the darkness back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll have you know i am very embarrassed by my own writing ahhhhhh (*ﾟｰﾟ)ゞ it all got super out of hand


	19. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah I give up on posting regularly, chapters will appear when they appear. Life is very busy and I can't write as frequently as I was able to before I moved back to Aus. Thank you for the continued support! Have some Anakin and Ahsoka bonding time :3
> 
> As usual, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism. Thanks for all your lovely comments!!

Anakin felt amazing. 

The glow had been dimmed a little by Obi-Wan’s comment about possibly not staying permanently, but Anakin decided that was a future problem. Besides it didn’t seem like it was a ‘I’m leaving you forever’ kind of thing, and more of a ‘I need to go help people occasionally but I’ll come back’ situation. He hoped so at least.

Anyway. 

He felt amazing. A little tired now, but he was still faintly buzzed off the energy and adrenaline from their tryst. Anakin had never felt quite so connected to Obi-Wan than in that moment; Obi-Wan seemed unaware, but his shielding had faltered at times and Anakin was awash in the adoration and blissful sensation Obi-Wan had been feeling. It had been…glorious.

Obi-Wan was now staring out into the darkness as Anakin navigated the road back to the homestead. The light from the dashboard and the headlights of the speeder reflected back onto his face, illuminating his pensive expression. Obi-Wan had such a lovely profile; all straight lines and soft edges.

Anakin returned to watching where he was driving but rested his hand over Obi-Wan’s where it sat between them and sent a pulse of affection along their bond. Obi-Wan didn’t move but Anakin felt an echoed burst of love come right back at him. His heart was light in his chest as he grinned the rest of the way home.

The house was dark and quiet when they came in—clearly they were gone far longer than they’d thought. The pair of them snuck in and down the stairs, Anakin nearly tripping on a plastic ship on the second last step. Obi-Wan thankfully grabbed him before he hit the floor. He did not want to wake the twins up.

Righting himself and whispering his thanks, Anakin looked up and was suddenly caught in a conundrum. He looked between Obi-Wan’s room and his room. Hm. He hadn’t thought about this. Where to go?

“Wait a moment?” Anakin whispered to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan nodded and paused in the hallway.

Anakin smiled and said, “Be right back,” before ducking into his bedroom.

Padmé was tucked into bed with hair pulled into two short plaits. She was snuggled in against the pillows staring at a holo-pad on her lap, a small frown on her face.

“Hey,” Anakin greeted softly, shutting the door behind him.

“Evening,” Padmé said, looking up from her reading. “You look very chipper. In fact you look rather a lot like you had a good orgasm.”

Anakin shot her a very self-satisfied smile.

“Would it be okay if I stayed with Obi-Wan tonight?” Anakin said to Padmé, pausing to sit on the edge of the bed and kiss her cheek. “Everything got a little sexier than usual and I don’t want him to feel…used? No…unimportant? Hmm…”

“I get what you’re saying, Ani,” Padmé said, smiling. “I think it would be good. I take it you had fun on your drive then?”

“Yeah. Had a good talk too,” Anakin replied. “Did you know that he knew about us the whole time?”

“I thought we had him fooled for a while, but clearly not.”

Anakin moved to stand up.

“Nah-uh, I expect a goodnight kiss before you go,” Padmé said petulantly, raising her head in combined defiance and expectancy.

“Of course, love.”

He leant back down and pressed a slow kiss to her lips, allowing his hand to curl into her hair for a moment before pulling back. “Goodnight.”

“Night, darling. See you in the morning.” At that, Padmé turned back to her holo-pad with the addition of a small smile on her lips.

Anakin grabbed his sleep shirt and snuck back into the hall to find Obi-Wan leaning against the wall nearer to his own door.

“All okay?” Obi-Wan whispered. 

Anakin nodded and ushered Obi-Wan into his own room.

“What is it, Anakin?” he asked when they were in and Anakin had shut the door.

“I wanted to stay with you tonight,” Anakin said taking a step closer a placing a gentle hand on Obi-Wan’s chest, his fingers playing with the fabric.

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment. “Padmé is okay with that?”

“Yeah, she thought it was a good idea.”

Obi-Wan’s hand came up to cover his own. “Alright then, but we are just sleeping.”

Anakin pressed their foreheads together. “Sure.”

After Obi-Wan gave him a warm smile and a brief peck on the lips, they sorted themselves into less sandy clothes and Anakin climbed into bed. Obi-Wan switched off the light and climbed in beside him, allowing Anakin to curl up next to him.

His brain evidently thought that now was the time to worry about Obi-Wan leaving. Anakin huffed in annoyance at his own mind and curled closer to his partner. There was still that small irritating worry in the back of his head that if Obi-Wan left he wouldn’t come back. He’d find something—someone better. Someone who wasn’t already married with children and in hiding and—

He felt Obi-Wan shift beside him, muttering a soft, “What is it?”

“You’re still happy with all this?” Anakin asked to the darkness. 

“I’m very happy, Anakin. Relax.”

He felt a warm hand stroke through his hair paired with a wave of love and reassurance along their bond. 

“You’d tell me if you weren’t, right?”

He heard a little exhale of breath. “Yes, dear one.”

“Good,” Anakin said, finally closing his eyes. 

* * *

The next few days were a blur of activity.

The first was spent with Padmé and Obi-Wan, helping them clean the house. Ahsoka, Threepio, and Artoo took the twins to play outside while their parents kicked up unimaginable amounts of dust and sand. Obi-Wan and Padmé spent a lot of that day flirting. The stand-off as a whole had continued in much the same vein as it had been; both of them just teasing each other at any given moment. It was entertaining to watch, and one of these days, one of them was going to give in, but it was begining to drive Anakin to distraction as well. Having two very lovely, attractive people that Anakin loved being overtly flirtatious in front of him was _torture_.

It was also getting to the point that Padmé had had to drag Anakin off for a quick dalliance because she’d become a little too intense in her attempt at seducing Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan had found it hilarious, waving them goodbye as Padmé dragged Anakin from the room and then followed after Ahsoka and Co.. Anakin had laughed through most of it until Padmé had kissed the laughter from his lips and distracted him entirely.

The next day was comprised of driving around Tatooine fixing things for the locals and chasing off a few Tuskens. Ever since their last encounter, every Tusken Anakin had come across ran at the sight of him. It certainly impressed the locals, as a few had reported that the raiders didn’t come back after that. Evidently they had taken Anakin’s threat very seriously to the point that other tribes had received the message. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

The day after was a mixture of more repair jobs and taking Obi-Wan out to the cave for more ‘saber practice. Anakin thought they were nearly back to their old skill level, but he was definitely not as fit as he had been. It has also briefly devolved into kissing and wandering hands as they hadn’t really had a moment to themselves for the last few days. 

The day after that Anakin was standing in the lounge room, hands on his hips, feeling that he’d forgotten something. He’d been going from activity to activity so quickly that he was just a bit overstimulated and felt needed to _do_ something.

The front door opened and Obi-Wan came in from his vaporator rounds. 

Distraction acquired.

“Hello there,” Anakin said brightly, catching Obi-Wan’s arm as he headed for the kitchen. “What are you doing here, all alone and so very gorgeous.”

Obi-Wan laughed, kissed him on the nose and then nodded at the door. “Ahsoka’s outside. Looks like she could use someone to talk to right about now.”

Anakin nearly asked why Obi-Wan wasn’t doing so himself when his thoughts caught up to himself. Obi-Wan was pointing him at an opportunity. He pouted regardless, but Obi-Wan just kept smiling before continuing on to the kitchen.

Another time then.

Anakin refocused himself and went outside. Ahsoka stood on the flats past the vaporators, staring out at the desert, her distinctive silhouette lit by the twin suns. She stood perfectly still with her arms wrapped around her torso, the skirt she’d borrowed from Padmé flapping in the light wind. Anakin crossed the ground between them and stood by her side, now able to see the frown on her face.

“Ahsoka?” Anakin asked sitting down beside where she stood.

“Hm?”

“You okay?”

“Mm. Just thinking about Rex and the rest of the guys. I miss them,” Ahsoka said, staring at the horizon. 

“Do you know what happened to them?”

“After all the Clones turned on the Jedi, they became part of the Empire’s army. I assume they’re there, doing whatever the fuck Palpatine tells them to do,” Ahsoka said flatly.

“I will never understand how they could turn on the Jedi like that. I thought they were our friends—comrades at the _very_ least!” Anakin shook his head and Ahsoka frowned at him. “I can only assume Palpatine manipulated them as well.”

“Yes and no,” Ahsoka said slowly.

Anakin turned to her, thoroughly perplexed. There was no way Palpatine could also have done to all of them what he did to Anakin. “Why the fuck did they attack the Jedi then?”

“They had chips in their heads,” Ahsoka said, voice low and angry. “The Chancellor issued the kill order and they all carried it out. They _had to,_ they had _no choice_. Took us months to discover that. A few had defective chips and ran, or their chips eroded enough that it couldn’t compel them anymore. We found them and the truth eventually.”

Anakin felt his heart stop as something clicked in the back of his mind. An old memory flickering to life in his minds eye.

“Fives…” Anakin breathed out. “Fives found out. Sith hells.”

“What—”

“After you left. Tup went strange and killed Master Tiplar during a fight. We thought something was wrong so we sent him and Fives to Kamino, and then suddenly Fives was a fugitive, apparently having lost his mind.” Anakin rubbed his face, a heavy weight settling into his chest. “He organised a meeting with Rex and I. He was paranoid and twitchy, and muttering about a plot against the Jedi and organic chips—he must have fucking found out—I thought he was crazy but—he said Palpatine tried to kill him—fuck we could have prevented all this—I didn’t believe him—”

“Skyguy, breathe,” Ahsoka said blandly.

Anakin took a ragged breath, “Yeah. Okay.” He took a few moments to centre himself again before Anakin dropped his head into his hands, muttering, “I’m so fucking stupid. How could I have missed that?”

Ahsoka sighed and finally sat down beside him. “Look. Palpatine had you wrapped around his evil little finger. He could have stabbed a guy in front of you, _explained_ himself, and you’d probably have believed him…Kriff, I’d probably have bought it too.” Ahsoka put her chin in her hands and stared out at the desert. “He fooled all of us.”

Anakin tried to swallow down the words burning in his throat but they forced their way out at a hash whisper. “I miss him—and I fucking _hate him_ , and _everything_ he did to me and everyone else, but I still miss him and I hate myself for missing him but I just…I really thought he cared.”

Ahsoka turned her head and gave him a long, searching look before she nodded slowly. “I get it. I hate what Barriss did but she was still my friend and I’m sad about what happened. I wasn’t looking for the signs that she’d turned on us because I trusted her. You trusted Palpatine and he used it against you, the fucking sleemo.”

Anakin felt like such a failure. He should have helped her. He should have listened. He should have fought harder.

“I’m sorry about Barriss. I’m sorry for the whole thing,” Anakin said quietly. “I should have left with you.”

Ahsoka let out a bitter laugh. “That would have been nice, but its a little late for those thoughts. We’re too far past it all.”

“What did you do?” Anakin felt the words like ash in his mouth. He should _know. W_ hy hadn’t he ever asked before? They’d met up between her leaving and the Empire’s rise. A voice in the back of his head whispered that he'd been too caught up in his own life to look too hard at hers.

“I did the only thing I could think of. I went to Padmé.”

“I didn’t know—”

“I made her swear to not tell you,” Ahsoka cut in. “I was embarrassed and terrified and I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”

She wasn’t looking at him anymore.

“How…I feel about Barriss is how I feel about you right now,” Ahsoka said softly. “I still like you but I also want to punch you in the face—” her voice caught in her throat and Anakin watched tears gather in her eyes before she turned on him, fierce anger on her face as everything she snapped and everything she had been holding back exploded out of her. “How could you? After _everything,_ how could you!? We were the _good guys—!_ ”

“I know.”

She was properly sobbing now, lekku shaking with emotion and tears rolling down her cheeks. “You weren’t meant to _help—help destroy it all!_ We were supposed to win and be happy! Padmé said she would talk you into leaving when the war was—was over and we could all be together again! You were meant to come back, not join the _Dark side!_ ”

Anakin just watched in shock as she fell apart. 

She was only a child still; thrust into a war, kicked out on her own, and dropped into a Galactic disaster with all her support gone. Everything she had ever hoped for and everyone she had cared about had slipped through her fingers.

“You were meant to come back!” She punched him in the arm. “I thought you were _dead!_ ”

“I know. I really fucked up. I’m sorry, Ahsoka,” Anakin said.

Ahsoka kept crying, wrapping her arms about her body again and hiccuping, “You’re a fuck—fucking idiot.”

“I know. Come here?” Anakin offered, opening his arms to her.

Ahsoka looked at him for a moment through red eyes before she threw herself at Anakin, pressing her face into the top of his shirt and wrapping her arms about his torso in a near-crushing hug. He quickly manoeuvred himself so as not to be hit with her montrals and then wrapped his arms around her in return.

“I thought you were dead,” she sobbed into his shirt, the moisture seeping through the fabric and sticking against his skin. “I _mourned_ you. Everyone said you were _dead_.”

Anakin felt his heart sink in his chest; he’d really dropped the ball on Ahsoka. Anakin had been so caught up in his own life and stress he’d completely missed how she was struggling as well. She was practically his child and he’d abandoned her. 

Anakin murmured, “I’m sorry, Snips,” as she let out all of her anguish into his shirt. 

Ahsoka cried for a while. It seemed she’d been holding this all in for a long while and couldn’t find it in herself to stop. Anakin could feel her confusion and pain and sadness staining the Force around her. He patted a soothing hand on her back, projecting into the Force as much care and love and remorse he could muster to try and ease away her hurt.

Ahsoka sniffed for a while before her head raised again. “Why haven't you yelled back at me?”

Anakin frowned. “Because you’re right. I was a fucking idiot that helped an evil man destroy our lives. I’m going to regret that decision for the rest of my life, Ahsoka, and be eternally thankful to Obi-Wan for being a self-sacrificing bastard and stopping me from going further. You’re welcome to hate me forever if you want,” Anakin said slowly. “I wouldn’t blame you. I’d hate me.”

“It probably won’t be forever,” Ahsoka muttered and pulled away.

Anakin nodded, and let her go. She ended up only moving so far as to put some space between them, but still kept close enough that their shoulders brushed companionably.

“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if Obi-Wan hadn’t intervened?” Ahsoka asked quietly.

“Yes and no,” Anakin sighed. “I don’t know how much Obi-Wan told you about it all, but he only managed to stop it because he’d been having Force visions about the whole thing. I died in the vision but…”

“But?” Ahsoka pressed.

“But I don’t think I died. That day the Force was telling me that I was going to suffer, not that I would die.” Anakin stared at Ahsoka. “I think I would have survived. Beyond that, I don't even want to think about it. I was scared and reckless and made the worst decision of my life—”

“That’s saying something,” Ahsoka grumped.

Anakin laughed. “Like you’ve got a perfect record.”

“Better than yours!”

“That’s a low bar at this point, Snips.”

Ahsoka shoved her shoulder against his, a small smile on the edge of her lips.

The thought of what might have been weighed heavily on his chest. Every so often it would resurface in his mind and Anakin would feel the ice-cold grip of fear cover him. He knew partly what would have happened. Somehow, he would have lived; the Force had whispered promises of pain and suffering in his ear for weeks. He’d assumed it was to do with Padmé, that he would suffer when she died…but it was that and more.

Padmé would have been dead and he would have inevitably gone back to Sidious. He would have been angry and righteous and burning with desire to revenge himself upon Obi-Wan. Anakin knew himself well enough to know that. He would have done anything. He would have never doubted Palpatine. His family would be gone—

Anakin was filled with terror at Luke and Leia ever knowing what he’d done. What he’d nearly done. All of it shamed him to his core. All Anakin wanted now was for his family to be happy and safe. Padmé, Obi-Wan, Luke, Leia, and Ahsoka.

Anakin shook his head, attempting to chase the thoughts away. “I love you, Ahsoka, you know that right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve been trying to be better,” Anakin said slowly, “and I want to be a better friend to you. Would you be okay with that? Starting over?”

“You _have_ seemed more relaxed here,” Ahsoka observed. 

“Yeah,” Anakin replied, “can’t say I miss being a Jedi. The helping people part was great, sure, but the rest of the dogma? The limitations? Not so much.”

Ahsoka sighed. “Same.”

There was along period of quiet as they watched the wind kick sand around, the pair of them just sitting in quiet, leant up against each other.

“Okay,” Ahsoka said finally. “Let’s start again—but if you _ever_ do something like that again I will _hunt you to the ends of the galaxy!_ Got it, Skyguy?”

If Sidious ever got his claws in Anakin’s head again, then he was glad Ahsoka was ready to take him out. However, Anakin would do everything in his power to never let that happen. He didn’t want her to ever have to deal with such a thing.

“Loud and clear, Snips,” Anakin agreed.

They’d sat out a while longer until Padmé called them in for lunch.

After their heart to heart, Ahsoka thawed off more and more. They both actively attempted to spend more time together and Anakin had taken to showing her around the homestead and instructing her on how to work and fix everything. She lapped up the information happily and was soon joining him on the occasional repair job when he needed an extra pair of hands.

The locals had been skeptical to begin with, looking the young Togrutan woman up and down with distain, but Anakin firmly informed them all that ‘Snips’ was his protégé and she was just as good as he was. A few had thought she was his property until Ahsoka had told them _exactly_ where they could shove that idea. After those few mixed encounters and a few chances for Ahsoka to show her worth, no-one objected to Anakin having her along. Ahsoka seemed to like having something to do and a way to be helpful besides entertaining the twins as well as giving her some excellent life skills on how to fix _anything_.

Ahsoka still spent a lot of time playing with and looking after the twins and after she and Anakin had repaired some of their relationship, Ahsoka admitted that Padmé had said she could train them.

That had been a bit of a shock.

He’d nodded at Ahsoka, but gone directly to the source of the issue. Anakin recognised the need for it and the benefits of it being _Ahsoka_ and not their parents but he _would have liked_ to have a say on it and not find out a good two weeks after the decision had been made.

Anakin had cornered Padmé on her vaporator round and said some rather choice words. After a very heated conversation between the two of them, Padmé relented and promised to let him in on important decisions on the twins and apologised for forgetting to mention it. 

Generally, everything was going really well.

* * *

Luke was in an odd mood.

He’d caught Anakin’s attention by calling, “Daddy!” from his crib, evidently awake after his mid-morning nap. 

Leia had been taken into town with Padmé and Ahsoka to visit Padmé’s crafting friend. They’d decided that the twins should spend a little more time apart from one another as part of their emotional growth. They both needed to learn how to be apart; the fact that Luke had cried for a good thirty minutes after they’d left really reiterated that point.

Anakin walked into their room and leant over the crib, petting a gently hand over Luke’s hair.

“Daddy!” Luke yelled again, attempting to climb up and over the sides of his bed.

“Yeah, yeah,” Anakin said, wrapping his hands around Luke and lifting him up. “Daddy’s here.”

“No!” Luke retorted, wriggling in Anakin’s grip.

“Yes!” Anakin grinned back and hefted Luke onto his hip.

“No Daddy! Daddy!”

“I have no idea what’s gotten into you, Lukey,” Anakin mumbled and carried him upstairs. Maybe some lunch would remove whatever bug had made it into his system. Luke wriggled the whole way.

Luke continued to be contrary, grumbling through the entirety of lunch and continuing to yell variations of “No” and “Daddy” and Anakin was finding it very vexing. He was just about to do a little bit of investigating in the Force when the door swung open.

Obi-Wan looked very windblown; his hair tousled all about his face which was reddened around the cheeks. “Looks like we may have a sandstorm later,” he remarked, shaking his hair out. “You should call Padmé.”

“Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy,” Luke chanted, drawing Anakin’s attention back down.

“What is it Luke?”

Luke wasn’t looking at him; Luke was staring at Obi-Wan, arms outstretched and still chanting vehemently.

Obi-Wan looked as though someone had dropped a bomb in his lap. He had completely frozen in his tracks, wide eyes fixed on Luke. Anakin didn’t think he was breathing. Luke seemed to sense the change in mood, slowly trailing off his chanting into a more questioning chant. His bottom lip may have been wobbling slightly.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked, speaking up over his son.

“Mmm?” Obi-Wan hummed back instinctively, still staring at Luke.

“Luke wants you.”

Obi-Wan blinked. “Yeah.”

As if possessed, Obi-Wan staggered over into Luke’s space. He reached out a hand and let Luke grip onto his fingers, still transfixed. Obi-Wan sent Anakin a nervous glance, eyebrows furrowed and lips pressed together. Anakin could feel the swirl of confusion and joy in Obi-Wan, topped with hesitation…he was…worried how Anakin felt…

“It’s okay, Obi-Wan,” Anakin said quietly, placing his hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. 

Anakin was a tiny bit jealous if he was being honest with himself, but he loved the fact that Luke thought Obi-Wan was also his parent even more. Anakin also wasn’t about to tell his son off for being more perceptive than the rest of them. Clever lad.

“Are you sure?”

Anakin huffed. “Wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t.”

Obi-Wan shot him an exasperated smile and lifted Luke from the chair. Luke shoved his face into Obi-Wan’s shirt and mumbled something incoherent. Obi-Wan was still staring at Luke with a faint sense of wonder. 

“You want to try feeding him the rest of lunch? He was being a right pain for me,” Anakin said. “I’ll make us something and call Padmé.”

Obi-Wan agreed and Anakin set to finding where he’d put the comm. After circling the house twice and listening to Luke being slightly less fussy, he found it hidden under a pillow in the twins room. After a quick chat to Padmé who promised they would leave immediately to avoid the storm, Anakin returned upstairs and set to throwing a meal together.

When he returned, Obi-Wan was seated on the couch with Luke on the floor in front of him, evidently having finished lunch. Luke, once he spotted Anakin, began stumbling across the room to him.

“Luke, let your dad make lunch in peace,” Obi-Wan suggested.

“No! Daddy!” Luke grumbled and attempted to climb up the stairs into the kitchen after Anakin.

“I think this could be a little confusing,” Obi-Wan said.

Anakin shrugged. “Ahsoka called both of us Master and we managed that.”

“Hm.”

“Up!” Luke said doing a little jump in the air, trailing after Anakin as he returned to the lounge and placed the food on Obi-Wan’s lap.

“I’ll pick you up soon, Luke. We’re eating lunch, you’ll have to wait,” Anakin responded, sitting down beside Obi-Wan.

“No. Up!” Luke said, staring at the pair of them. After a moment he became frustrated, jumped, and then looked around the room frantically.

“Up! Up!” Luke repeated and held out his hand where one of his small ships rested. The fighter smoothly came to life in his hands and flew up to the ceiling. Luke pointed and continued his repetition of ‘Up.”

“Oh, you want to float?”

“Yes! Float. Wanto float.”

Anakin Force-lifted Luke up into the air and they both watched Luke happily float a few feet off the ground as the toddler controlled his ship to fly around himself. He then proceeded to make all the appropriate whooshing and firing sounds to go along with it. 

“He’s much chattier when Leia’s not here, isn’t he?” Obi-Wan said, watching the whole interaction quietly.

“Yes he is. She’s rather bossy.”

“I wonder where she could possibly get that from,” Obi-Wan said snidely.

Anakin chose to ignore him. Technically speaking, she probably got it from all of them.

They ate their meal in silence. Anakin eventually got tired of concentrating on not dropping his son, and lowered him to the floor again. Luke only grumbled for a minute and crawled about on the floor, excitedly crawling towards one of Leia’s gooberfish under the table.

“Are you sure you are alright with it?” Obi-Wan asked again when they’d finished eating.

He resisted sighing. “Yes, Obi-Wan. What’s the problem?” Anakin’s mind ticked over a thought.He hadn’t exactly signed up to be a parent. “Are _you_ okay with it?”

“I…” Obi-Wan trailed off. He seemed to be at a loss for words. Anakin waited.

After a few minutes had passed, Anakin tried again. “Obi-Wan?”

“I’m _trying_ to put it into words,” Obi-Wan said tightly. Anakin could feel anxiety leeching through Obi-Wan’s shields.

“Then don’t,” Anakin said, placing his hand on Obi-Wan’s and sending a gentle caress along their bond. 

Obi-Wan’s hand flinched away.

Anakin felt his heart drop. Was Obi-Wan that unhappy about it? Did he not want to do this anymore? Everything had been going so _well_ and Anakin had been trying _so_ hard—Surely this could not be the thing that broke them apart? 

He could feel the cold coil of fear twist in his chest.

Something must have shown on his face when Obi-Wan muttered a quiet, “Sorry. Sorry, It’s a good idea. I still love you,” and leant his forehead against Anakin’s. He took a deep breath in and out, then Anakin felt his shields around their bond lower.

Obi-Wan’s mind was swirling with emotions— _fear of intruding on Anakin and Padmé’s family—joy at Luke thinking of him as a father—terror at being a father—something he’d never ever expected in his life—deep deep affection for Luke—an unwillingness to fully let himself step into such a role—fear that he hadn't been the best mentor for Anakin and would fail Luke_ —Anakin pulled back.

“You’re scared,” Anakin said, his voice tinged with disbelief. He shook his head. “You’ve been doing great with the twins and do everything that Padmé and I do.”

“I only saw myself as more of an uncle figure. Technically, they are not in any way mine—”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s no different, Obi-Wan. Luke’s just decided you are also ‘Dad’—which, looking at his logic, is pretty good; we all look after him, we all love him, we all love each other.”

“I suppose,” Obi-Wan sighed, leaning into Anakin. “Everything was so much easier when I could put these feelings aside.”

“Maybe, but was it better?”

“No,” Obi-Wan admitted.

Luke, having noticed the change in mood, attempted to climb into Obi-Wan’s lap and press the gooberfish into his hands. 

“Thank you, Luke.”

“Welcome,” Luke responded, perfectly imitating his mother’s lilt.

“Do you want to talk to Padmé about it?” Anakin suggested.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “We had a somewhat similar conversation shortly after the twins were born. I already know she's going to agree with you.”

“Then there you go. We have no problem with it, so it’s up to you.”

Obi-Wan relented and reached down to lift Luke onto his lap. Luke lifted up the gooberfish and very helpfully shoved it into Obi-Wan’s face.

“What do you think, Luke?” Obi-Wan asked him, gently moving the stuffed toy out of his face.

“Dad kiss,” Luke replied. “Kissy kiss.”

Anakin watched Obi-Wan’s face melt into soft acceptance, leaning down and kissing Luke on his chubby cheek. Luke laughed happily, shouting, “More!” when Obi-Wan leant back.

Obi-Wan gave Luke the small, exasperated smile he’d used to give Anakin when he was a Padawan (or after suggesting a particularly reckless plan as a Knight), and leant back in to pepper Luke with even more kisses. Luke shrieked with joy and attempted to kiss back when Obi-Wan stopped, little fingers grabbing a firm hold of his shirt. 

“What, none for me, Lukey-Lu?” Anakin asked, faking affront and poking his son in his stomach.

Luke turned, still smiling, and puckered his lips at Anakin.

He was so adorable. Luke still had baby fat around his face and a bright smile with a selection of teeth poking through. Anakin loved how much of himself he could see in Luke’s face, and how much he had of Padmé and Obi-Wan’s calmer personalities. 

Anakin grinned brightly at Luke and swooped in. He grabbed Luke around the waist, pulled him closer and pressed a big kiss against his cheek while tickling his sides. Luke wriggled and squeaked happily, falling back onto Obi-Wan’s lap as he lost balance. His bright joy suddenly flooded the Force around them. Anakin basked in his son’s happiness, feeling his own smile expand. He let up for a moment and Luke squirmed in Obi-Wan’s lap for a moment longer and then turned on Anakin. 

His little face squashed in thought before he lunged at his father, imitating the tickling motions with his hands. Anakin pretended that it was very effective, laughing while sliding sideways off the couch and onto the floor.

Luke followed him, Obi-Wan gently helping him off the couch, before Luke jumped directly onto Anakin. He let out a pained “Oof!” as twelve kilos of child landed on his stomach. What proceeded was a good twenty minutes of tomfoolery and rolling around on the floor. Obi-Wan joined them at some point, kneeling beside them and periodically attacking both of them before Anakin grabbed a hold of him and dragged him to lie down with them.

They were all still laying on the floor and giggling like idiots when Padmé, Ahsoka and Leia returned. They seemed to have beaten the sandstorm, but all the three of them were very windblown. Leia was thoroughly wrapped up to keep the sand out of her eyes, with Padmé and Ahsoka both wearing goggles and scarfs about their heads.

“Welcome back,” Anakin said, grinning up at the three of them.

Padmé lifted up her goggles and quirked her lips. “Hello. Having fun?”

“Mummy!!” Luke exclaimed, scrambling up to greet his mother and latching onto her leg.

Leia immediately began fussing and Padmé put her down beside her brother. The pair of them then began chatting in gibberish to one another, obviously pleased to be back together.

“How was Jeina?” Obi-Wan asked, standing up and offering Anakin a hand as well.

Anakin took it and pulled himself up. 

“Jeina was very good. She showed Ahsoka how to crochet.”

Anakin grinned at her. “Going to be making anything soon?”

Ahsoka scrunched her nose up at him. “Nah. It was entertaining for one afternoon but it didn’t really interest me. Jeina was nice though.”

“She also mentioned that the Bonta Eve Classic is on in a couple of days,” Padmé said, pulling the scarf from her face, draping it on Obi-Wan. “You and Ahsoka should go, Ani. You didn’t get to last year.”

That had been when the three of them had been sleep-deprived beyond measure. Anakin hadn’t even known he’d missed it until weeks after the fact. 

He would like to go.

“Want to see some _real_ pod-racing, Snips?” Anakin asked.

Ahsoka’s eyes lit up. “Oh, hell yes!”

* * *

Two days later, Anakin found himself at the Grand Arena in Mos Espa with Ahsoka. They’d run off with the speeder and made an afternoon of the whole thing. Obi-Wan and Padmé had decided to stay home with the twins, which was probably for the best; Padmé wasn’t very interested in it all, and Anakin knew Obi-Wan would watch the whole thing with a pained expression and exude anxiety into the Force. The few times he’d managed to convince Obi-Wan to go, he’d tried to be supportive, but the whole thing just seemed to stress him out. The unnecessary danger and violence didn’t seem to appeal to him for some reason…Also the fact Anakin would often race probably didn’t help.

Ahsoka was watching the whole thing with fascination. She had linked her arm in his so they couldn't be separated (they also had a blaster each tucked beneath clothes just in case) and were watching the crowd closely. 

“I could make some awesome contacts here,” Ahsoka said under her breath.

“Probably, but not today, Snips.”

She huffed. “Why not?”

“Because all anyone is interested in today is betting. They’re not going to want to help out some off-worlder—win or lose. You'd do better making contacts when we’re out fixing stuff,” Anakin explained. “Also, we’re having a nice day out.”

“ _Fine_ ,” Ahsoka agreed, all sarcasm and rolled eyes. “We can have _fun_ if we _have to_.”

“Yup. Mandatory fun day today.”

They took the time to meander about and investigated the food on offer but decided that most of it looked questionable at best and left it well alone. Anakin did find a man selling pallies and purchased one for each of them, Ahsoka devouring hers quickly with sharp teeth and declaring it delicious. After feeling a bit more fed and having exhausted things to look at, they made their way out onto the stands and found a space to watch.

“Eugh,” Ahsoka said, nose pointed up at the dais on their right. “Jabba.”

“Hutts are scum,” Anakin informed her. “Don’t look at him, it’s asking for trouble.” Last thing they needed was Jabba’s attention. Obi-Wan had apparently already sidestepped an invitation for Anakin to do some work for Jabba. No way. Not ever.

Ahsoka turned to look at Anakin properly, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Why do you hate them so much? You wouldn’t tell me last time we were here with Stinky.”

Fuck it, she couldn’t think any less of him. “A Hutt once owned me and my Mom. She was a cruel master who eventually lost us in a bet with Watto. _He_ then lost me in a bet with Master Jinn.”

Ahsoka stared at him with wide eyes. “Master Jinn _won_ you in a bet?”

“I think technically he won my freedom but its much of a sameness. He also won a hyperdrive.” 

Anakin was still a little bitter that he was a nice bonus to go with a ship part. 

Anakin was still _very_ bitter about how he’d had to leave his mother in slavery. At least she’d had a short period of happiness with Cliegg Lars. He should visit her again soon.

“They’re about to start!” Ahsoka said excitedly, pointing at the starting line.

The people that had been clustered around the pods scattered; running quickly from the track to the sidelines as the roar of each engine kicked in. The flag bearers walked off slowly, their coloured fabrics whipping violently in the wind. The drivers had a tough race ahead of them with that wind.

Anakin could feel the way his heart trilled at the sight and sound and smell of it all. He could remember the exact feeling of exhilaration he’d felt so many years ago. 

The crowd was on their feet, the air thick with anticipation and the roar of the pods reached a deep hum like a thousand angry Genosians. The combined sounds drowned out everything else. Anakin could no longer hear what Ahsoka was saying and waved his hand by his ears before he pointed her back to the track. Anakin watched with vivid interest as each racer revved their pod and stared fixedly at the lights.

Jabba’s gong sounded.

The first light ticked on and the pod’s revving reached a thunderous crescendo and the pods shot across the starting line, kicking up sand into the air. One pod hadn’t taken off; they watched him fiddle with the dials before one of the engines exploded and the crowd cheered.

There was always one.

Anakin and Ahsoka watched the screens around the track in total enraptured silence as the pods zoomed through the course. One pod got taken out by a stray bullet from the Tuskens camping by the track and another just incinerated itself on a straight. Anakin figured the cooling system must have failed.

“You know, I won this race,” Anakin said below the roar of the crowd, grinning widely as a few racers sped through the starting posts again. “Only human to ever do it. That’s how Qui-Gon won me.”

Ahsoka looked at him with wide eyes. “You _did this_?”

“Yeah. I loved racing. I took Obi-Wan a few times to some underground ones on Coruscant later on too.”

Ahsoka stared at the track as the rest of drivers came around again, only just catching Ahsoka saying, “That’s awesome.”

They stared at the screens as the racers sped off into the desert again, Anakin’s ears still ringing from the roar of the departed pods. Oh how he’d missed that sound. 

“ _I_ want to do this,” Ahsoka breathed out in awe.

Anakin paused. 

“Do you?” 

“Kriff yes! Look at this! It looks like crazy fun and _way_ easier than flying in a war zone. I could totally do it.” Ahsoka asserted, crossing her arms and grinning confidently.

“We should then; build and race it next year,” Anakin said excitedly. He could feel the slightly manic grin making its way onto his face. Padmé had said he couldn't _race;_  Anakin could totally build one and _Ahsoka_ could race. 

“Can we even build one from scratch?” Ahsoka asked.

Anakin scoffed. “I could build one from scrap parts when I was _nine_ , Ahsoka. I _won_ with that thing. We can do _so much better_.”

Ahsoka just looked back at him in awe.

They continued to watch the race in silence—Anakin already planning _exactly_ what he would need—and winced as another pod malfunctioned and zoomed directly into a stalagmite within the caves. That area was so tricky. He’d definitely have to give Ahsoka some training and let her get a lot of practice in. The crowed cheered in excitement as the dark green pod—apparently some hot-shot Wookiee from Kashyyyk—overtook the vibrant orange pod from Malastare. The pods rocketed through the starting posts in preparation for for the final lap.

“Can we paint it 501st blue?” Ahsoka asked after the noise had died down again.

“Of course.”

Ahsoka grinned. “Kriff yeah. Let’s do this. I can make sure I’m back on Tatooine next year for it.”

They watched the final lap with hearts in their throats as an intense battle commenced between the Wookiee and the Dug. Anakin and Ahsoka seemed to have silently decided that they were cheering for the Wookiee—though likely for different reasons. The two racers traded places, one managing to pull ahead of each other for a brief period of time before the other retook the lead. They weaved skilfully through each area (another two random pods being lost to the Raiders, and another exploding from coming off a cliff wrong) before they were rapidly approaching the finish line.

“Come on, come on, come on,” Anakin whispered under his breath, “they can totally push that thing harder—!”

The Wookiee won by the tip of their engine. Ahsoka had been jubilant, throwing her arms around Anakin and shrieking along with the crowd, “That was fucking _wizard_!”

The Wookiee (Shrilreuck, as the announcers informed them) was awarded with a rather hefty sum of credits and was _literally_ showered with emerald wine. That was going to be one sticky Wookiee in about an hour when she dried off. 

Once the winners ceremony concluded and the track was open to the public, Anakin let her walk around for a little while and check out the pods. She circled them with focused attention, investigating the engines and control pod closely. Anakin somehow ended up in a conversation with the pit crew about maintenance and where he could find some specific parts on Tatooine. Evidently he needed to check out a junk shop in Anchorhead.

Then Anakin spotted Watto talking to a Toong some ways down the track. 

Time to go then.

Anakin quickly separated himself from the pit crew and collected Ahsoka. He briefly explained why they had to go. To her credit, she nodded, understanding immediately, and they left the arena with determined steps. They were caught a couple of times by locals who wanted a chat or to hire Seripas and Snips. Anakin allowed a brief chat for each, taking down comm numbers for new customers and then excused themselves, citing that his wife would kill him if he was home late. They bought it and let them go.

Anakin let Ahsoka drive home and was unsurprised when she drove rather faster than usual with a deranged grin on her lips. Anakin could sympathise. He was still feeling a little adrenaline swamped after that. It was a fun drive home.

They arrived to find Obi-Wan and Padmé curled up on the couch together. They we laying horizontally across it, side by side with pillows tucked up behind them. Obi-Wan had an arm thrown over her shoulder and Padmé’s head was nestled on his chest. They were both examining a holo-reader on Padmé’s lap, softly talking and indicating to the screen. It was a very quietly intimate scene. Neither of them noticed Anakin and Ahsoka coming in, completely engrossed in whatever it was they were looking at.

“We’re back!” Ahsoka said brightly. “And we’re gonna build a pod-racer!”

Anakin could hear Obi-Wan sigh from across the room. 

“Anakin, we talked about the fact you can’t race—” Padmé started.

“I’m not racing,” Anakin said, a tiny bit too smugly.

“I am.”

Padmé and Obi-Wan both turned their heads to look at Ahsoka. She stood firmly with her hands folded over her chest, chin held high.

“Are you sure?” Padmé asked gently.

“Yeah.” Ahsoka nodded firmly. “I want to. It looks like an awesome amount fun.”

Anakin heard Obi-Wan’s muttered, “She gets it from him.”

Hell yeah she did; they were going to have an amazing time with this.

Padmé nodded and returned to looking at Anakin. “So long as you’re both sensible and safe about it.”

“Yes, dearest,” Anakin agreed, gave Ahsoka the thumbs up and headed over to his two lovely partners. “What are you looking at?” Anakin asked, leaning over them and peering at the screen.

Padmé held it up for him; it appeared to be a whole lot of records and accounts.

“Bail wanted me to look at some documents for him so Obi-Wan and I were looking through them,” Padmé explained. “We’ve spotted a few dodgy things already.”

“Looks like legislation. The Senate?” Anakin asked.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said, “there’s some poorly worded areas that definitely need addressing, as well as some budgeting errors; there’s money slipping though the cracks to _somewhere_.”

“Sounds dodgy.”

“Very.”

“Well, we’re both starving—the food they were selling looked very suspiciously like grilled Jawa—so we’ll get started on dinner,” Anakin said, stepping back.

“Would you like assistance?” Obi-Wan asked.

“No, you both stay there, you look very comfortable. I was going to show Ahsoka how to make Mom’s ahrisa recipe anyway. I think we’ve got all the ingredients.”

“Sounds good, thank you, darling,” Padmé said.

Anakin leant down and pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads before following Ahsoka into the kitchen. 

Things were good.


	20. Triplicity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My freaking god this chapter took forever to write! Writers block is honestly the goddamn worst. There's some sexy times at the end of the chapter, so as usual feel free to skip it if thats not your thing, but if it is, then enjoy ;) I'm not entirely happy with the chapter (though it could just be the writers block) so I may mess with it in future.
> 
> As every other chapter, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism (I currently have a list going of 'things that are getting fixed when the fic is finished' so even if it's an issue from a while back, or an overreaching issue, do let me know). Enjoy!

It had been six months since Obi-Wan had come home with Ahsoka. 

Everyone was happy and keeping themselves occupied around the house: All four adults continued to maintain the vaporators, Ahsoka would intermittently train the twins, Anakin and Obi-Wan would vanish to train up in the hills, Anakin and Ahsoka would work on their pod-racer and go into town on jobs, and Padmé would spend her time with her family and continue to work on examining the documents Bail had sent her. Basically, everyone had settled into their own little roles and routines as they went about their day, while maintaining a constant balancing act between the four of them to raise their smallest two.

She’d been initially surprised when the twins began calling Obi-Wan ‘Dad’ as well as Anakin. She’d expected him to freak out some, but he took it without even blinking. 

Padmé had been unable to resist pointing out, “You know they're calling _you_ Dad, right?”

Obi-Wan had smiled. “Yes. Luke started it the other day. Are…are you alright with that? Anakin and I thought you would be but I don't want to—”

“It’s lovely,” Padmé had assured him. “Though I think it’s going to get confusing.”

“Hm. I thought the same, though Anakin says otherwise.”

Padmé had to smile. “Give him a week.”

She was right. A week later of the twins confusing the heck out of them all with calling the both of them Dad. Anakin had grudgingly admitted he’d been wrong and they’d set about teaching the twins to call Anakin ‘Dad’ and Obi-Wan ‘Daddy’. It had taken some time, but they’d gotten there in the end.

Anakin and Ahsoka had thrown themselves into building their pod-racer. They’d begun working on it only a few days after returning from the race, both eager to begin. Anakin had made a few trips around the settlements and towns and picked up some key parts and materials to get them started. So now when the pair of them had a moment free, they’d head outside and tinker at it. Anakin had even built a rudimentary shed to house the pod in and keep sand off it. The two of them were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Padmé still had her reservations about it. It was dangerous; on and off the race track. Padmé could still vividly remember how terrified she’d been when she first saw Anakin race, and she’d stated very early on that she and the twins were not going to come to races. Anakin had been disappointed but had understood her point of view. She’d also made him promise to conceal their identities as best they could. They could trust the local populace with their faces and a fake name, but she didn’t trust the fact that _anyone_ could come to the races. Anakin had thus promised to conceal their faces under the guise of fashion and privacy when they raced, so that was at least something. She wanted him to be happy, and doing this seemed to be doing just that, so she would support him in this endeavour, but she had to know they were making it as safe as possible. For Ahsoka and for the whole family. This mustn’t put them in danger. That, she was adamant about.

Padmé also thought it was especially important they didn’t make too many waves given that it was also becoming apparent that both Luke and Leia were _very_ strong in the Force. They had progressed well past haphazardly dragging items around with the Force and now they were able to float items with precision and skill. Ahsoka also asserted that, in her opinion, the twins had a very close bond and communicated a lot that way which was contributing to their burgeoning ability to perform the odd mind trick.

Ahsoka had had to prioritise teaching them both to shield once that came to light, and while both were making some headway, they were no good at doing so without prompting. None of the adults were surprised given they were only a year and a half old. Unless it was fun or had a clear reward, neither child was going to take the initiative. However, after Leia had nearly compelled her mother to give her a blaster off the high shelf, Ahsoka and the boys went about teaching Padmé rudimentary shielding.

It took her a couple of weeks, the first few days definitely being the worst where it felt as though Ahsoka was just making shit up because it all seemed so abstract. Ahsoka, clearly aware that she wasn’t catching on, pulled Anakin and Obi-Wan in and they tried to help. Anakin ended up being the most help, actually dipping into her head and helping her feel around for where she was trying to create shields. Once she had a clearer idea, while it still took time, she actually made some headway and was now actually able to follow what Ahsoka was saying. Learning alongside the twins had been fun as well, given how quickly they were picking up new words; Obi-Wan said that was fairly normal for Force-sensitive children so she wasn’t worried about it. It was nice to be able to communicate with them, even if it was still a mishmash of real words and gibberish.

Obi had at least been a great motivator, even if he hadn’t been much concrete help. He encouraged and praised her over her efforts, claiming that she was doing very well for someone who had no experience with this sort of thing. She could certainly see why the men under Obi-Wan’s command and Anakin were so enamoured with the man; he was very honest and open in his compliments and Padmé had felt rather uplifted for a good few hours afterward. That and his undivided attentions felt very special and she’d had to resist kissing him _again._

It was an ongoing problem.

The whole flirting thing had continued with full gusto. Padmé had been ongoing in her attempts to seduce Obi-Wan, even though it hadn't really gone anywhere so far, but she was enjoying the attempt. She had at least learnt from her last failure and hadn’t gotten so into the seduction that she had to resort to any more trysts with Anakin. Sure, Anakin had enjoyed it, but Padmé had been a little embarrassed about it. 

Thus she had stepped it down a little bit, returning to lingering touches and getting in his space. Draping herself over him was often effective, as was wearing low cut shirts and other loose items that _just wouldn’t stay in place_. That and Anakin’s clothes. She’d noted how Obi-Wan’s eyes had gone dark when she’d come upstairs in one of Anakin’s tunics; too loose and smelling of him was evidently too much for Obi-Wan. She’d ferreted that information away for the future. 

Obi-Wan had reciprocated similarly. He was becoming more relaxed about touching her and they would often curl up on the couch together when Anakin was out. Padmé had dragged him into helping her with Bail’s work more often given how skilled he was at such investigations. She’d initially missed the funding errors and the missing money until he had pointed it out.

She continued to wonder which of them would give in first. 

Currently, Padmé’s money was on herself. Obi-Wan was becoming harder and harder to resist with his stupid charming smile and lovely blue-green eyes and floppy ginger hair—bah. 

Soon.

* * *

Padmé and Anakin stood in the kitchen, cups of caf clutched in their hands like lifelines. Luke had come down ill the day before and he was _not_ having a good time. He’d spent a lot of the night crying and kept the whole house up. Padmé felt like sinking into the nearest chair and just giving up for a few hours. Instead they turned to sweet, sweet caffeine.

Obi-Wan was similarly tired. He had only recently appeared upstairs as he had spent the night with Leia in his room in a vain attempt to at least get one child to sleep. He had already chugged two cups of tea without a word, staring blearily at the countertop.

“Morning,” Obi-Wan mumbled placing his now empty mug on the counter with a loud click.

“Did you and Leia sleep at all?” Anakin asked, brushing hair out of Obi-Wan’s face. It had gotten rather long, as hers had as well, left to grow for so long. They should both get it cut soon; they needed to maintain anonymity. Anakin’s hair was rather long now as well, and most often pulled up in a tail or bun, but when left loose fell past his shoulders by a good few inches. It was a good look on him. Very regal.

Obi-Wan sighed. “I didn’t. Leia got an hour or two.” Padmé watched as Obi-Wan leant in a gave Anakin a long, slow kiss. 

Padmé was more than ready for the day Obi-Wan decided that he was okay to start a relationship with her. The flirting was incredibly fun and a terrible tease for the past couple of months but she _wanted_.

“Hmm,” Obi-Wan said, pulling back from Anakin, “I should check she’s still asleep.”

Obi-Wan then turned to his left and leant in to Padmé.

Padmé’s breath caught as Obi-Wan kissed her softly, leaning in and curling his hand around the back of her neck. Her heart fluttered hopelessly and leant into him, revelling in the tingling feeling where he touched her.

Her head was spinning when he pulled back. 

“I’ll be back shortly,” Obi-Wan mumbled blearily and retreated back downstairs.

Padmé looked over to Anakin who was looking at her with something akin to wonder. She flashed him a questioning look before he shrugged and shook his head. Padmé stared at the half open door he’d vanished down in disbelief. Did he even realise…?

“How long until he notices?” Padmé whispered conspiratorially to Anakin.

Anakin was thoughtful for a moment. “I give him fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll take ten.”

It took seven; seven long minutes in which Padmé became increasingly desperate to get her hands on him again. They had been flirting for _weeks_ and she was so, _so ready._

Suddenly, Obi-Wan stumbled back into the kitchen, ears pink, stuttering out a soft, “I’m so sorry, Padmé, I just really wanted to kiss you and I was tired and I reacted without thinking—”

Padmé had reached her limit. She wrapped her arms about his shoulders and tugged him down to kiss her properly. It was like a cool glass of water after a long day in the sun; that feeling of blissful satisfaction of getting something you’ve been desperately admiring from afar. Padmé’s whole body seemed to exhale in relief.

Obi-Wan let out a tiny breath of surprise, but melted into her embrace just the same. He kissed back with equal enthusiasm, hands finding their way to her waist and tracing along her hips. Padmé hummed happily into his mouth. It felt absolutely lovely; straddling that fine line between sensuality and passion and Padmé was willing to drown herself in it. Padmé pulled herself closer, feeling hot all over and very seriously considering finding a way to climb into his lap because _yes please—_

“Uh, should I go…or what?” Anakin piped up behind them.

Obi-Wan pulled back with a jolt and a laugh, hands still tangled in Padmé’s shirt. Padmé felt a little dazed.

“I’ll see myself out,” Anakin said ducking awkwardly out of the kitchen. “I’ll just uh, leave you to…yes.” And he vanished.

They both watched Anakin dash out of the kitchen, Padmé certainly not missing how his eyes had gone dark and his cheeks had flushed an appealing rosy colour.

“Is this okay?” Padmé asked tracing a finger along Obi-Wan’s cheek, still happily ensconced in his arms. He held her on the edge of too tight. It was exactly what she wanted.

Obi-Wan smiled. “Yes. Very much okay,”

Padmé bit her lip and revelled in the way Obi-Wan watched the movement. Focus.

“Just to clarify, is this you indicating you’re ready to try a relationship with me, or was it all a sleep-deprived misstep?” Padmé asked softly. She sincerely hoped it was the prior.

“I am feeling very awake now,” Obi-Wan said, the edge of his lip curving in a tiny grin, “and I think I would like to try if that suits you?” 

“Yes please,” Padmé agreed with enthusiasm and leant up to brush her nose against his in invitation. “It suits me very nicely.”

Obi-Wan tilted his head to press a kiss to the end of her nose. “As you wish, my dear.”

Padmé smiled as he leant down to kiss her properly, his blue eyes disappearing behind lids and the warmth of his mouth returning to hers. She could definitely get used to this.

“Oh, _come on!”_ Ahsoka whined suddenly from behind them. “We’ve talked about this!”

Padmé let her arms drop and she reluctantly stepped back from Obi-Wan, pressing her lips together in an attempt to not smile. She hadn’t exactly meant to get so carried away, but Ahsoka was right.

“Obi-Wan, buddy,” Ahsoka said companionably, placing her hand on his shoulder. “I’m happy for you but you’ve _got to stop_ making out with people in the kitchen. I _eat_ here.”

“Of course, my apologies, Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan said seriously.

“Good. Now take all that,” she indicated broadly at them both with a wave of her hand, “somewhere else.”

Padmé just smiled at her, grabbed Obi-Wan’s hand in hers and pulled him toward the stairs after Anakin. Padmé waited until they were out of earshot at the bottom of the stairs before she muttered to Obi-Wan, “Well, I guess I should never tell her about the time that Ani and I had sex on the kitchen bench.”

Padmé wished she could record the sequence of expressions that crossed Obi-Wan’s face. Confusion was followed closely by shock and disbelief before it all melted into sweet, unrestrained laughter. His hand clasped to her arm as he melted against her, head falling to her shoulder, as Obi-Wan descended into hysterics.

Padmé couldn’t help it. She followed suit and burst into a fit of giggles.

Anakin poked his head out into the hall from the twins room. “Everything okay out here?”

Padmé nodded through watery eyes and a hand over her mouth, hiccuping out, “Fine, dearest.”

“Well you might want to keep it down, I just got Luke to sleep.” Anakin pulled the door to the twins room shut behind him and crossed the hall to their room. “You two good?” She noted how he worried with the hem of his shirt.

“Yes, let’s chat in private,” Padmé said, shooing Anakin into the room and dragging Obi-Wan in behind them, ignoring his objection.

Anakin threw himself onto the bed and sat cross legged in the centre, staring at the pair of them in rapture. “So…?” Anakin pressed and patted the bed in front of him.

Padmé moved to sit on the bed and gave a little tug to Obi-Wan’s hand as a suggestion. After a moment’s hesitation, Obi-Wan joined them sitting cross legged, mirroring Anakin, and completing their little triangle.

“Padmé and I have agreed to progress in our relationship,” Obi-Wan explained and Anakin grinned brightly.

“Excellent,” he said brightly, “that’s wonderful.”

“Are you okay with it all, Ani?” Padmé asked resting her hand on his knee. He was looking a little on edge and she didn’t want problems to appear because she hadn’t asked.

“I—yes,” Anakin said, a little bit too quickly.

Padmé raised her eyebrows at him and Obi-Wan frowned at him in concern. Anakin looked between the two of them and quickly came to the conclusion that he was not going to get away with any of that with the two of them. 

“It’s nothing,” Anakin revised. “It’s silly and I _know_ it’s silly so don’t worry.”

Obi-Wan made a face at him. Padmé tapped her finger against his chin and continued to stare expectantly at him.

“You’re not going to let it go are you?” Anakin asked.

Padmé shook her head. “No, sweetheart. Communication is important.”

“Fine.” Anakin sighed and crossed his arms, pulling his face away from her hand. “I just had a little moment of ‘they don’t need me’—but I already know that was me being irrational and it’s _fine_ —”

Anakin was cut off as Obi-Wan leant forward and left a lingering kiss on his lips.

“I need you,” Obi-Wan said seriously, pulling back.

“I know,” Anakin replied grumpily though he was smiling.

“I do too, Ani,” Padmé said and gave him a brief kiss as well. Even if Anakin thought it was ‘silly’, it was a valid thought process and they needed to reassure him regardless. If they let it go on, how knows how it could go wrong. Padmé wanted this to work.

“I _know_ ,” Anakin repeated, laughing and pressing his forehead against Padmé’s. 

Padmé smiled and gazed into his sky-blue eyes. “Just making sure.”

Anakin blinked. “Thank you,” he said just above a whisper. “I love you both.”

The three of them took some time to discuss what they wanted and how they were going to move forward. It was a little awkward at first, but once they got to talking it became easier. Padmé rested a hand on the knee of each of her two gentlemen. Obi-Wan placed his hand over hers and Anakin absently stroked his fingers along the back of her hand. It was very pleasant and Padmé felt her body slowly relax.

Obi-Wan maintained that he wanted to keep his own room for now and (at Anakin’s request) would occasionally stay the night with Anakin and Padmé if the mood took him. Padmé requested they have a few proper dates as the three of them. She didn’t care if it was a picnic or an evening in or _what_ , she just wanted to set some time aside for the three of them. Anakin had mainly desired group cuddles and happily seconded Padmé’s idea. 

The three of them had agreed to take the physical part of their relationship as it came and let it progress naturally. Sadly that likely meant Padmé would have to wait a little longer on climbing into Obi-Wan’s lap to have her way with him. He’d also sensibly pointed out that he should probably go on the same contraceptive medication that Anakin was on.  Padmé could have kicked herself. She was so used to her and Anakin being so on top of all that, it had completely slipped her mind. Thankfully, Obi-Wan had clearly taken her ‘never get anyone pregnant’ comment to heart. She appreciated it. 

Otherwise, they were basically going to be moving forward much in the way they already had been.

While they had talked Padmé had slowly sunk in her seat until she was lying on the bed, her head in Anakin’s lap with a leg slung over Obi-Wan’s now extended legs. She was enjoying the fact that they were both absently petting her, Anakin playing with her hair and Obi-Wan rubbing circles into her calf. She felt very pampered and well loved.

Of course, that was exactly when the crying began again in the next room.

* * *

A week later of intermittent sleeping patterns, medication for Luke, and many cuddles for Leia who had been very distressed about her brother, things returned to normal. They also managed to find time for Padmé to cut her and Obi-Wan’s hair. Padmé lopped hers off at neck height again, and she did her best to return Obi-Wan’s to the length it had been when they’d first moved out here. It was a little odd in places, but it did the trick.

Padmé also snuck kisses from Obi-Wan at every chance she could get. After _months_ of flirting and staring longingly at him, she had rather a lot of pent up attraction and desire to dispel. The kissing was helping but there was still a burning need to truly lose herself with him, but she was happy to wait until Obi-Wan was ready for such a thing. She gave Anakin a similar treatment to ensure he didn’t feel left out, although he enjoyed seeing Padmé kiss Obi-Wan, so it was all going rather well. 

They did manage a date within the first two weeks of the three of them getting together. Ahsoka kept the kids entertained in their room while Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé had a lovely evening together. Obi-Wan made dinner, throwing together a salad and roast, and Anakin provided them with a rather nice bottle of wine. 

The evening had ended with the three of them curled up on the couch in a haphazard pile of limbs. Obi-Wan was sandwiched between the two of them. Padmé had her head rested on his chest with Anakin’s head on his shoulder, their hands linked between them, just chatting absently.

Later, when Obi-Wan chose to stay the night with them, Padmé discovered that he still had nightmares. She’d ended up sleeping in the middle and had been woken to pained moans, initially thinking he was having a far more enjoyable dream until she noticed the way he was curled in about himself, hands fisting the blanket around him. 

Padmé hesitated at waking him up, knowing he could lash out. Instead she began speaking softly about nothing in particular in the hopes it would rouse him. 

Obi-Wan woke with a gasp, jackknifing upright and panting heavily with wild eyes as he reoriented himself. It took a minute or so, and she watched him stare at nothing while just breathing and running his hands anxiously through his hair.

“Sorry,” he whispered when he noticed Padmé’s eyes on him.

“It’s fine,” she said, sliding closer and reaching up to stroke his hair back into place. “Want to talk about it? Ani has them sometimes too.”

“Just…that last day. The Temple,” Obi-Wan admitted slowly. “I can still remember that feeling of all those lives, those lights in the Force going out. ”

“I’m sorry,” Padmé whispered. 

Obi-Wan sighed and lay back down beside Padmé, his head facing hers on the pillow. “I wish I knew who was still alive. I understand why Ahsoka can’t tell us, but it is killing me.”

“The Empire cannot exist forever,” Padmé reassured him. “We’re helping to stop it and hopefully, one day, you can find them all again.”

“Then what?” Obi-Wan asked darkly. “Re-build with a broken system and a traumatised populace? No, and—I want to stay with you both.”

Padmé’s heart fluttered. “And you can,” she said, placing her hand on his cheek. “No-ones saying you have to rebuild. You can do whatever you want with your life now, Obi.”

Obi-Wan frowned, clearly thinking hard before he continued.

“I just—I can’t understand how we were able to be taking children; how parents would _let us_ take them. I didn’t understand until now, but I couldn’t ever hand the twins over to strangers with the expectation that they would never be seen again,” Obi-Wan said breathlessly. “I can’t—how could we?”

Ah, dear. 

Obi-Wan had clearly been thinking about the Jedi too much and examining their failings too closely. That was never going to end well. Padmé, possibly more than anyone, was very, very aware of their shortcomings. 

“Obi, love, what _you_ tried to be was good, but how the Jedi did things was neither good or sustainable. Both you and Anakin were both ends of the extreme of how to do things and _both_ of you crashed and burned. Ani fell and you tried to kill yourself—

“I didn’t—”

Padmé pressed her finger on his lip. “I’m sorry, but you did, darling. It was a broken system.”

Obi-Wan looked away. 

“Wasswrong?” Anakin’s voice murmured from behind Padmé, his hand appearing on her back..

“Nothing Ani, go back to sleep.”

Anakin mumbled something else, shifted in the bed, and was quiet again.

“Come on, we should sleep,” Padmé said and snuggled in closer to Obi-Wan, tucking her head beneath his chin and wrapping an arm around his torso. “We can talk more in the morning if you want.”

Obi-Wan shuffled himself so that he could throw his arm around her as well and snuffled into her hair for a moment before settling again. Padmé waited until she felt him relax and fall asleep before following suit.

She caught him the next morning when Anakin had left the bed to feed the twins. Padmé had woken still wrapped up in Obi-Wan’s arms and had kissed his neck inquisitively. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Not great,” he said in a hushed voice. “I've just heard a few disparaging comments about the Order that Ahsoka and Anakin have said in passing. Nothing major, it was just the two of them venting their past frustrations to one another. It just...built up on me because, well, because the more I think about it, the more it seems that they are right. I just didn’t want to admit it.”

“It’s hard to admit what you believed in was wrong,” Padmé said softly. “I was devastated to realise that the Senate had lost its way and allowed Palpatine to rise to power. We failed in what we were meant to do, just as the Jedi did.”

Obi-Wan turned to look at Padmé. “How do you live with it?”

“I live with it by telling myself that I, as one person, couldn’t have done much to change the way the tide of thousands was going, and by resolving to do my best to fix it and rebuild it better when the opportunity comes,” Padmé said.

Obi-Wan was thoughtful for a long while before he leant in a kissed her reverently.

“Thank you, Padmé,” Obi-Wan said as he leant away.

“No problem. Now, shall we go give Ani a hand?”

The day was then spent as it usually was, the four of them rushing around and doing various jobs, until Padmé finally brought up the whole resistance thing over dinner with Leia in her lap and Luke attempting to climb Ahsoka’s montrals.

“So, while we’re all here, I’ve been meaning to mention an idea Bail wanted to run past you all,” Padmé said. “He was wondering if we would be okay to function as a safe house for rebellion agents.”

Padmé, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan discussed the logistics of it for a time—they’d need to expand, they’d need to have a system in place—until Anakin, who had been listening silently finally piped up, something clearly clicking in his head. “Wait. Those documents you and Obi-Wan were looking at; was that for the rebellion?”

“Yes,” Padmé said. “Bail wanted me to look at them. I offered to help however I can.”

“You can’t do that,” Anakin said, a deep frown on his face. Padmé did not miss the way that Ahsoka’s eyebrows shot up and side-eyed Anakin. 

“And why not?”

“I want you to be safe,” Anakin asserted. “The rebellion isn’t going to be safe.”

“I am perfectly safe,” Padmé retorted, bristling. “I’m doing the work from here _and_ I can take care of myself regardless. You _know_ that. Just because we’re out here, doesn’t mean you can control what I do.”

“I know, but I can’t lose you both—”

“You’re not losing either of us,” Padmé said evenly. “I’m staying here and Obi-Wan is coming back, aren't you?”

Obi-Wan looked a little shocked to be dragged into the argument, but responded anyway with, “Of course. I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to.”

“Besides, there's nothing stopping you from helping as well,” Padmé added. 

Anakin seemed thoughtful at that comment. 

“Now, final thoughts on being a safe house?” Padmé pressed.

“I think its a good idea,” Ahsoka said.

“Agreed, though I have concerns about maintaining our covers here,” Obi-Wan said. “This place should really not be used unless it has to be.”

The three of them turned to look at Anakin. He was quiet for a stretch, clearly still mulling it over, a frown still on his forehead.

“Ani?” Padmé pushed after some time. “We have to be in agreement on it. If you’re not okay with it you need to say.”

Anakin’s eyes met hers searchingly and said, “If you really want to help, then I’ll support this, but I agree with Obi-Wan that it should be a last resort. Also, Bail’s got to be really fucking certain whoever he sends isn’t going to turn us in to the Empire.”

“That’s fair,” Padmé agreed. “Any other issues?” The three of them shook their heads after a moment of thought. “I’ll give those conditions to Bail then, though I’m fairly certain he will allow them. Let me know if you think of anything else as well.”

Later, when they all went to bed, Anakin apologised for his outburst and they talked it through, Padmé also admitting she should have been more transparent about the work she was doing. Anakin resolved to try and be more supportive. He recognised he’d had a moment of panic, his brain tripping over the fact that he hadn’t realised that helping Bail meant helping the rebellion. He’d felt like he wasn’t in the loop of what was happening.

“Why don't you think about helping as well,” Padmé suggested again. “That way you won’t feel left out of the loop.” 

“Thanks, but what would I even do? I don’t want to leave.”

“You don’t have to go anywhere, do like I am, and do what you can from here.” She petted his hair slowly. “Think on it. You have a lot of skills, Ani, Bail could use your help.”

“I’ll think about it.”

* * *

“Artoo, could you message Bail and see if he is free for a call?” Padmé asked a few days later while brushing her hair out.

Artoo whistled the affirmative and twenty minutes later he informed her Bail would be free in five minutes.

Padmé rounded up Artoo and the twins, setting herself and them on the edge of their bed and instructing the astromech to call Bail when five minutes had passed. Luke proceeded to stand on the bed and bounce himself lightly up and down, his hands attached to the shirt at the shoulders. Leia was sitting happily in her mother’s lap while Padmé plaited small sections of her hair. It was reaching just past her ears now and was a good few centimetres longer than her brothers still, evidently inheriting her mothers quick growing hair in addition to the colour. 

Bail suddenly appeared, blue and see-through before her, a thick collar framing his neck and the top of his shoulders just visible in the image. He still had dark circles under his eyes and there were perpetual stress lines about his forehead.

“Hello Bail,” Padmé said and both children immediately focused in on the hologram.

“Hello again, Padmé,” Bail said pleasantly, eyes focusing on the child in her lap, “and who are these lovely things?”

“This is Leia,” Padmé said, placing a gentle hand on her head, “and behind me, bouncing like a loon, is Luke. Are you going to say hi kiddos?

Luke shoved his face into Padmé’s neck shyly mumbling something into her hair. 

“Hallo,” Leia said seriously to Bail.

“Hello Leia, it is nice to meet you.” Bail smiled brightly. “They’e both lovely, Padmé. Now, what did you want to talk about?”

“Thank you. Well, the three of us discussed the possibility of being a safe house and decided to agree on two stipulations; you only use us as an absolute last resort and you are absolutely certain there is no chance of the person turning us in,” Padmé said seriously. “We absolutely cannot let Palpatine know of Anakin or the children or you are going to have _much_ larger problems to deal with. Trust me. If you ever send anyone you have to be _sure_ , Bail.”

Padmé didn’t realise how anxious she was feeling, throat tight and fingers digging into her own thigh, until Luke burst into tears behind her.

Kriff, she should have shielded.

“Ah dear, sorry Lukey, I’m fine, look, Mummy is fine, see?” Padmé turned her head to smile at Luke and took a few slow breaths, willing away the anxiety and attempting to put up some shielding. She hadn’t meant to get so intense about it.

“Are they both Force sensitive?” Bail asked quietly.

“Very,” Padmé said, her arm reaching back over her shoulder to stroke Luke’s head. 

“How old are they now?” he asked suddenly.

“Just over eighteen months.”

“I would love to meet them,” Bail sighed, “though sadly the times do now allow for it.”

“One day.”

“Hopefully sooner than later. Well, I completely agree with your conditions, I wouldn’t send anyone I didn’t completely trust. The three of you are too important.” Bail gave her a smug grin. “If people knew the three of you were alive, I cannot even convey how much hope it would give them. Which, speaking of, I’ve been invited to speak at this years Amidala Day Celebration.”

“Up yours, Bail,” Padmé said affectionately.

The door to the bedroom swung open to reveal Anakin who immediately began talking. “Padmé, Obi and I are going to run into town, is there anything you needed—oh, hey Bail!”

“Hello Skywalker,” Bail said. “How are you?”

“Call me Anakin,” he said, bending to rustle Luke’s hair and kiss the top of Padmé’s head. “I’m excellent, thank you. How goes the Senate?”

Bail smiled. “Terrible, but we’re working on it.”

“Thats good. Also,” Anakin continued sitting down beside Padmé, “I wanted to do what I can to help. I do a lot of repair work around the settlements and spaceports; I can keep an ear out on smuggler and bounty hunter gossip for you if you’d like?”

“We could always do with more gossip,” Bail said. “It’s usually worth investigating; Palpatine seems to have soft spot for hiring bounty hunters to deal with his problems. Thank you, Anakin, it would be appreciated.”

“No problem,” Anakin said and then turned to Padmé. “Now, was there anything you wanted from town?”

“Blue milk?”

“Already on the list.”

“Hm…washing liquid; we’re nearly out. Also some fruit if there’s any.”

Anakin nodded. “We’ll try. Be back soon. Love you.”

“Love you too. See you later,” Padmé replied and shoed him out.

“He seems calmer than when I last saw him,” Bail noted. He had been watching the exchange with a smile.

When…? That must have been before the Empire. Gods that felt so long ago now. “Anakin is much happier here. Much less stress in his life. As much as everything is terrible in the Galactic sense, we’re very happy here.”

“I can imagine that the stress he was under at the end of the war would have been ridiculous.”

“Yes it was.” She quickly changed subjects. The less Bail knew about Anakin’s part in the whole thing the better. He just wouldn’t understand. “Anyway. I also wanted to go over the logistics of how being a safe house works and chat about the things Obi and I found in the documents you sent.”

Bail explained that either he or Ahsoka would contact them and give them advance warning if they were going to be sending someone. The whole point was for whoever it was to drop from the Empire’s radar, so they would house the guest (or guests) until it was safe for them to return elsewhere. Padmé had thought that sounded reasonable, and they decided that only Ahsoka should know their location for now.

Padmé then related the notes she and Obi-Wan had compiled about the documents they had read through. Bail was unsurprised at the poorly worded, loop-hole riddled law and policies, but noted it all down regardless. It was the missing funds that worried him the most. The few credits here and there didn’t look like much and was very tricky to spot, but it was collectively adding up. Bail voiced his concern.

“What could be so terrible that the man who puts through cruel, evil legislation without batting an eye on a daily basis, would need to syphon funds to secretly do things with it?” Bail asked, horror tinging the edges of his voice.

Padmé agreed that it didn’t look good and put five credits on it being some sort of devious Sith crap.

“Well, if nothing else, we now know we need to look into that as well,” Bail said. “Thank you, Padmé. I have another few things I’d like you to look at if you wouldn’t mind?”

Padmé smiled. “Of course I will, send it through to Artoo.”

The conversation eventually became more casual and gossipy, Bail filling Padmé in on the goings on of all their friends, and Padmé updating Bail on her family and what they got up to. They chatted for some time, Luke and Leia alternating between playing on the floor, playing on the bed, babbling nonsense and a few real words to Bail, and climbing all over Padmé.

As their chat drew to a close, Obi-Wan entered the room and sat down beside her.

“I thought you were going into town?” Padmé asked.

“Been in and back already. Hello there, Bail.”

“Daddy!” Leia exclaimed and proceeded to climb from the floor into Obi-Wan’s lap.

“Hello Obi-Wan. Keeping yourself busy? You seem to have inherited some children.”

“Ah, yes, in both respects. The later rather helps with keeping me busy as well,” Obi-Wan said, grinning down at Leia.

“They’re both beautiful children.”

“That they are. Now, Ahsoka’s stuck in town at the moment, but she wanted me to ask if you have any posts for her yet, and I wanted to also offer my services on short missions. I want to assist but I don’t want to be gone from home for too long,” Obi-Wan explained and Padmé smiled when his hand appeared on her knee.

Bail nodded. “I thought I’d give Ahsoka a bit of a break given how hard she worked herself for the first year, but if you think she’s okay to go back out again I do have a few things coming up I could use both your help on. Nothing too long, so you’d only be gone for a month at most.”

“Ahsoka has had some good down time now and she’s itching to get back out again,” Obi-Wan said. “A month at most sounds fine. Padmé?”

“We can go that long without you if we must,” she said, smiling and placing her hand over his. She knew how important this was to him. It wasn’t as though he was trying to disappear for eight months like he did last year. 

“Well, when you and Ahsoka have a moment, call me back and we can discuss your assignments,” Bail suggested and Obi-Wan agreed. “Now; I’ve kept you away for quite a while, and I should probably head off. It has been good to catch up with you all.”

“You as well, Bail,” Padmé agreed. “Keep yourself out of trouble.”

“I shall try.”

Padmé and the twins waved goodbye to Bail, Luke evidently feeling confident enough to actually look him in the eye as he said a friendly, “Bye!”

“Come,” Obi-Wan said, standing up and taking Leia with him when the call disconnected. “Anakin found some sour berries in town and he wanted to give them to the twins.”

Padmé sighed. 

Fine.

* * *

A few days later found Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padmé relaxing in their bedroom, Ahsoka having taken off into town to socialise and make contacts and the twins having been put down for their afternoon nap. 

Obi-Wan lay on the bed beside Padmé listening to Anakin muttering to himself on the floor at the end of the bed, puzzling over a device given to him by a customer. Anakin still wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong with it but he was having a good time figuring it out.

“The two of you are very organised with your contraception; how did you mess it up so badly with the twins? I assume they weren’t intentional,” Obi-Wan asked out of the blue, staring up at the roof with a faint frown.

Padmé snorted. “Where did that question come from?”

“I was just thinking about it. Anakin’s been great at reminding me in the morning, and you seem to be very on top of it, so I was just wondering.”

Padmé laughed. “I fucked it up _once_ and that was apparently enough.”

“How so?”

“Well, back then it was only me on the pill, and because we were away from Coruscant and the diplomatic vessel I was on was captured, I didn’t have it,” Padmé explained. “And then after Ani rescued us things got a little out of hand—”

“Was that…when we picked you and the diplomatic envoys sent to Kabal up off of Grievous’ ship?” Obi-Wan asked in dawning horror.

Padmé had to press her lips together to keep from laughing.

“You _did not_ conceive the twins mid-mission on Grievous’ ship, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said with his eyes closed and the most pained, disappointed expression Padmé thought she had ever seen on his face. “Please tell me you did not do that.”

“Mmmmm, we kinda did,” Anakin admitted reluctantly. “We had time to kill and you said to not break anything else until you arrived, soooooo whoops?”

It had not been one of their finer moments, but Anakin and the Troopers had saved the passengers (and inadvertently destroyed the engines and their transport) while chasing Grievous off the ship, so they’d all been stuck in space with a bunch of anxious senators and dignitaries until Obi-Wan could arrive with a rescue ship. 

Padmé, bored and rather turned on because Ani had _kicked ass_ during the assault, had excused him from guard duty by feigning illness and needing help. From there, she’d dragged him into an empty room to make out for a bit. However, making out devolved into heavy petting which further devolved into very emotionally intense sex on what had appeared to be Grievous’ war room table. She hadn’t remembered that she’d lost her pills two days before when the ship had been taken by Grievious’ forces until a week later when they’d finally made it back to Coruscant and she stared in horror at the box at home. 

Anakin had then been away for a couple of months in which Padmé had spent the first month praying that once wasn’t enough to get pregnant, and then after finding out that it was, making the decision to keep them. The Separatists had seemed to be on the back foot and Padmé was nothing if not hopeful, so she’d decided to see it through and _here they were_.

“Anakin, really?” Obi-Wan asked, voice incredulous.

“Look, it was Padmé’s fault!” Anakin grumped. “She started it!”

“Padmé?”

Padmé petted her hand on Obi-Wan’s leg beside her. “Yeah. I did.”

“I cannot believe you two.”

Padmé stopped listening to Anakin and Obi-Wan’s continuing back and forth, her brain catching on the fact that she’d started that little incident. 

She could start something now.

The kids were asleep, Ahsoka was out of the house, the three of them were free…

It was perfect.

Padmé rolled so she was laying on her hip, her front pressed against Obi-Wan’s side. Obi-Wan turned his head to look at her, blue eyes soft and ginger hair flopping every-which-way on the bed.

“Hello there,” Obi-Wan said with a smirk. “Can I help you?”

Padmé hummed thoughtfully, propping her head up on her left hand and tracing circles with her other fingers on his chest. “You know,” Padmé said conspiratorially, “I am living my fourteen-year-old dreams right now.”

Anakin’s head swivelled around in interest, looking up from the scattered mechanical parts for the first time in at least an hour. “Really?”

Padmé grinned back mischievously, “Yeah. Obi-Wan was everything I wanted at fourteen.”

Obi-Wan looked torn between being embarrassed and flattered. 

Anakin appeared closer to little crestfallen. “I thought you wanted me?”

Padmé sent Anakin a look of disbelief. “Sweetheart. When we met you were _nine_. No-one finds that crush-worthy. You were sweet and adorable and I loved that.” Anakin pouted at her. She laughed and tossed a pillow at him at him, “Stop it! Now, you, nine and cute, versus Obi-Wan, like twenty-two,” 

A muttered, “twenty-five,” came from Obi-Wan.

She continued, unhindered, “who is dashing and handsome, jumping in with his dad to save my planet. You have to admit, that’s pretty crush-worthy, darling. Fourteen year old me knew what she was about.”

“Even with the Padawan haircut?” Anakin asked. 

Padmé made a face and looked back to Obi-Wan, running her fingers through his hair. “I much prefer this look, but I would have taken the Padawan haircut.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “I can’t believe you found time to check me out while all of that was going on.”

Padmé smiled a sharp, predatory smirk. “As a Handmaiden I could check out anyone at will, darling. You were also a lovely distraction from your Master being a complete pain in the ass.”

“He could be that.”

Padmé used the conversation to slide her hand beneath the hem of Obi-Wan’s shirt. The material was coarse against her fingers until she found the soft skin of his stomach and began subtly drawing her fingertips along his skin, feeling very satisfied by the little shiver she created. 

“However, I definitely remember my daydreams involving a little more kissing than this,” Padmé added pointedly, making eye contact with Obi-Wan and flashing her eyelashes at him.

“Well then,” Obi-Wan murmured and leant across the gap between them. 

Padmé smiled into the kiss, gently pressing her lips against his, willing to let it stay innocent for now. He was lovely to kiss. Obi-Wan was very willing to let Padmé dictate the pace, and he was so very responsive to her. She could feel him shiver and twitch and move against her at each little change. She particularly enjoyed the way he would let out a barely audible sigh when she nibbled on his lips.

Padmé dragged her nails along the skin of Obi-Wan’s stomach and swallowed down his breathy moan and savoured the way he twitched beneath her hand. Padmé’s heart was beating hard in her chest, the anticipation curling around her like smoke. Obi-Wan rolled onto his side, a hand coming to rest on Padmé’s hip and clenching at the fabric of her pants. Her own breath caught as Obi-Wan kissed more insistently, drawing Padmé into him like a beacon of light. Padmé continued the movement and shifted onto her back, pulling Obi-Wan with her by his shirt. He followed willingly, laying so their chests were still pressed together.

Obi-Wan pulled back briefly to gaze down at Padmé. She felt like some kind of priceless piece of artwork the way he looked at her; his mouth gently parted with his eyes dark and fixed on her face before roving slowly over her upper body. 

“Your arm healed well,” Obi-Wan commented, rubbing a thumb over where the metal slug from the Tuskens had hit her.

“Yes, it did. More kissing, thank you.”

Padmé closed her eyes as he quirked his lips in amusement and leant down to mouth his way along her jaw. The gentle ministrations of his mouth combined with the scratching of his not-quite-beard was making clear thinking a little difficult. Gods that was good.

Padmé’s eyes fluttered open as Obi-Wan sucked particularly hard just beneath her ear, eliciting a whine and a wave of heat to sear through her. Padmé turned her head to give Obi-Wan more access and found Anakin staring at them, evidently having shifted around to the side of the bed, but was still sitting on the floor with his head in his arms on the mattress.

“You alright there?” Padmé asked, a little breathless and threading her fingers through Obi-Wan’s hair.

Anakin licked his lips, eyes unblinkingly focused on Padmé and Obi-Wan. “Wonderful, thank you.”

Padmé gasped as Obi-Wan bit her earlobe with the prefect amount of pressure and she reflexively bent her knees closer to herself. Obi-Wan continued to suck the lobe with intent and it was the perfect sort of torture. Padmé writhed helplessly at the attention, her body a symphony of movement, torn between pulling him closer and shoving him away. She chose to grasp his hair tightly and moan. 

Obi-Wan let up and pulled back, watching her with clear satisfaction. “Are you going to help or are you just going to watch?” Obi-Wan asked to the room, his eyes never moving from Padmé. She turned her head to see Anakin scramble onto the bed, moving to lie beside them. He had the exact same expression on his face that he wore when examining a new piece of tech: enraptured.

“I thought you were doing well enough on your own,” Anakin quipped back and dragged a hand down Obi-Wan’s arm. His hand then travelled over to Padmé’s cheek and turned her head so he could kiss her. 

It was a new sensation; having Anakin’s mouth on hers and Obi-Wan’s on her neck, but it was was just _lovely_. Obi was slowly working his way down her clavicle and she smiled against Anakin’s lips as she felt Obi-Wan tugging her singlet off.

He was finally getting with the program.

She sat up on her elbows to help get it off, and watched closely as he suckled his way down her chest, Anakin helping to unfasten and remove her bra before joining her in watching Obi-Wan. There was an odd moment when Obi-Wan seemed to be headed for her nipples before he paused, looked up at Anakin thoughtfully, and then continued on downward to mouth at her stomach. Unusual.

Padmé could feel the arousal curling pleasantly through her body, hypersensitive to each touch he placed on her skin, mouth and fingers working in tandem. She had been anticipating a moment like this for _weeks_ and he was certainly not disappointing. Padmé could feel the connection between the three of them thrum with desire and by the Gods it was a heady concoction. She could very happily drown like this.

When he lifted his head again, Obi-Wan’s lips were wet and grinning, looking up at her and Anakin hopefully.

Anakin wriggled until he could reach Obi-Wan and kissed him hard while Padmé bit her lip as she watched, Obi-Wan still half on top of her. Anakin kissed as though it was the only thing keeping him alive and Obi-Wan graciously let him. From this angle she could watch how Obi-Wan’s eyes would flutter at Anakin’s attentions. How Anakin would try to get as close to Obi-Wan as possible. How they both lost themselves in each other, seeming for all the world that nothing else mattered. 

Padmé really couldn’t think of one truly good reason as to why the three of them hadn’t been doing this for years.

At some unseen signal, they released each other and returned their eyes back to Padmé.

“Having fun there, boys?” she asked, laying back and splaying her arms above her. She was going for enticing and wanton. Given how both licked their lips, she figured it was working.

“Feeling left out?” Anakin said, gliding a hand up her leg and hooking a finger into the top of her pants. “I’m sure we can help with that.”

The pair of them returned to teasing her; back to gentle, fleeting kisses against her lips and skin. Obi-Wan touched her like she was fragile, hands and lips soft, never truly straying into anything sharper or harder. She would allow it for a little while longer, letting warmth and desire build slowly between them.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Anakin murmured proudly in a quiet moment.

“Very,” Obi-Wan agreed, voice low.

_Right_. 

That was _it_.

Padmé tucked a knee around Obi-Wan’s legs and hefted her wight against him, twisting so as to use his precarious position against him. She moved quickly so that Obi-Wan was pinned beneath Padmé; her hands on his shoulders and legs on either side of him. She could feel his erection pushing up against her. Unable to resist, she ground against him, drinking in his stunned expression.

“Okay, foreplay done,” Padmé declared breathlessly. “You’ve thoroughly seduced me and I would like to get into your pants now. Yes or no?”

He blinked. “Yes.”

“Excellent.” Wasting no time, Padmé set about tugging Obi-Wan’s shirt off revealing expanses of pale skin and muscle. Anakin was grinning brightly and swiftly helped her in her quest to dispose of the rest of his clothes. At some point Anakin vanished. She looked up to discover him sitting, legs crossed and leaning up against the headboard of the bed, just observing.

Padmé shrugged and slid down Obi-Wan’s body, peppering kisses the whole way. She alternated between soft, dainty touches and hard, demanding ones, listening to how Obi-Wan’s breathing would falter at each. When she reached the top of his pants she quickly unfastened them, working her way into the very obvious tent. 

Obi-Wan groaned, hand coming up to cover his face and then clutch at the sheets around him as Padmé took his cock into her mouth. He was heavy on her tongue and she took her time to focus on him, feeling how he would twitch and moan as she moved her tongue just so or slid a hand along a particular patch of skin. When Padmé pulled away she took a moment to enjoy the scene before her and felt inordinately proud of the way Obi-Wan’s breathing was completely fucked. She wanted this to last.

“Wait here,” Padmé said quietly, trailing her finger along his stomach and giving him a parting squeeze. She had future plans for him, assuming both boys were also on board.

Padmé crawled up to where Anakin was sitting, leant against the headboard of the bed and watching the whole scene closely. Padmé kissed him, passionate and fast, losing her hands in his hair and pressing her body hard against him. Anakin groaned into the kiss, his hands coming up to caress her sides and fondle her breasts.

Padmé let up for a short breath to smile at Anakin and turned her attention back to Obi-Wan who was watching them in wonder, his head tilted back and breathing hard. His hands were still wound into the sheets and his cock continued to be very interested in the whole affair. She could feel Anakin’s interest against her as well.

“Hm, what should I do with him, Ani?” Padmé asked sweetly, trailing a hand down Anakin’s bare chest. She wasn’t sure exactly when he’d lost his shirt, but it had inarguably vanished.

Anakin’s eyes were blown absolutely black and his voice had gone very low as he said, “I think he should fuck you.”

_Yes please and thank you_. 

Padmé kissed Anakin again and muttered praise against his lips.

“Thoughts, Obi?” Padmé checked in a moment later.

“Please.”

Padmé grinned and helped him sit up and turn back to her. She coaxed him in again, stroking her lips against his and drawing him towards her until he snapped. All his reserve now seemed to have been left behind. Obi-Wan still kissed her slowly, but his mouth was much more hot and insistent against hers than it had been. Less lazy and more desperate. His hands clung heavily to her waist, pressing the whole line of his body against her.

“Yes,” Padmé hummed into Obi-Wan’s mouth as his hands found the buttons at the top of her pants, and slid her out of them. It was an awkward manoeuvre, Padmé partly falling back onto Anakin as she lost her balance.

Deciding to roll with it, Padmé lay back with her head on Anakin’s chest, her body framed by his, his long legs cradling her against him. Anakin’s hands reached around her torso and tugged her in closer to him so she could feel his breath on her ears. His hands then lay against her stomach, tracing shapes on her skin and whispering nonsense into her ear. Obi-Wan crawled forward, slow and predatory, coming to hover above them both with his eyes filled with such dark promise, looking much the way he did so many months back when he’d first turned the charm on her.

“Alright?” Obi-Wan asked in a husky voice, drawing a hand down her body and pausing just above her abdomen, blunt nails sliding tantalisingly on her skin.

“Perfect,” Padmé assured him, barely able to find the mental space to remember to breathe. She bit her lip, sharp anticipation lancing through her body as his hand slid lower, her hips bending up into his touch. Obi-Wan leant forward so their foreheads were pressed together, his face not much more than a blur that close, but it created a warm intimacy that she delighted in. 

He lightly kissed her nose as he pressed a finger inside her. Padmé’s eyes fluttered closed and she drank in the sensation. She couldn't contain a moan as he stroked his finger in and out. If she had though she was turned on before, she’d hit a new level now. 

“Is that good, darling?” Anakin asked quietly beside her ear.

Padmé could only groan and arch her hips as Obi-Wan easily added another finger. “Yes,” she hissed eventually and smiled as she felt Anakin kiss the side of her face. Obi-Wan continued at the languid pace, letting Padmé feel as though she was burning up from the inside. It was intoxicating to be worshipped in such a way by both her boys, but she needed—

“Obi-Wan,” Padmé said breathlessly, “if you don’t get a move on, I’m going to be forced to kill you.”

He laughed, kissed her and said, “Well when you put it that way.”

Obi-Wan slowly—infuriatingly so—retracted his fingers, and leant down to kiss her. Padmé hummed into the kiss as he pressed into her, sucking on his lower lip intently. This is exactly what she wanted. Padmé groaned and let her head fall back onto Anakin shoulder as Obi thrust lazily into her, all fluid motion and roiling muscle.

“Better?” He asked smugly, nuzzling into the side of her face.

“You’re a terrible person,” Padmé breathed out.

He snapped his hips forward sharply. 

“Fuck! A terrible, wonderful, amazing—”

Obi-Wan cut her off with a kiss as Anakin began devouring her neck again. It all blurred together for a while, a mess of burning desire, grasping hands and a hypnotic rhythm between the three of them. Anakin was fairly unobtrusive, quietly watching over her shoulder or kissing her neck, and stroking his hands wherever they could reach, Padmé or Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan would kiss anyone he could reach, while also carefully watching and responding to Padmé, very aware and attentive to her needs.

Padmé felt close to bursting at love for the both of them.

Padmé moaned helplessly, slowly becoming a mess of words, her fingernails scratching at Obi-Wan’s shoulders as it all came to a head. She collapsed back into Anakin as the sensations unexpectedly crested, hot and shaking and brimming with pleasure as she came. Obi-Wan was close behind her, burying his face in her shoulder, muttering endearments and pressing fleeting kisses to her neck.

Padmé wrapped her arms around him, struggling to catch her breath and basking in the afterglow, her skin still feeling oversensitive and tingling where they touched. She wound her hands through his ginger hair, now a bit damp, and twirled her fingers around his locks, inhaling his warm, welcoming scent. Anakin pressed slow kisses to the top of Obi-Wan’s head as well, the two of them seeming to be trying to impress a feeling of unity onto Obi-Wan. 

“I love you both,” Padmé whispered into the quiet.

Variations on, “Love you too,” were echoed back at her from both gentlemen.

“Need a hand Ani?” Padmé asked when her brain was working again, tipping her head back to look up at him.

“Ah, no.” He smiled and briefly kissed her cheek, his hair falling into her face. “We weren’t shielding our bond, so I’m good,” he said, nosing along the back of her neck, “so, _so_ good.”

Oh. Well that was interesting. It certainly explained the fact she could no longer feel his cock pressing into her back.

“Does that mean if I do something with one of you, the other can feel it?” Padmé asked.

“If we let it, yes,” Obi-Wan said.

Padmé hummed, thoughtful and already planning how she could use that for nefarious purposes.

“I’m not sure I trust that sound” Anakin said.

Padmé smiled at him. “I wouldn’t.” She grabbed a hold of Obi-Wan’s hand and tugged briefly. “Up here, love.”

The three of them shuffled into a pile of limbs, stealing kisses here and there, and curling up together under the covers with Padmé happily trapped between them. She was warm, contented and feeling tremendously satisfied. They’d need to clean up at some point, but just now, she couldn’t find it within herself to care. Her boys were calm and happy and it was all she could ask for.

“Okay?” Padmé asked Obi-Wan.

He echoed Padmé’s earlier statement of, “Perfect.”

A short cuddle later and Anakin had already begun initiating another round, leaning over the top of Padmé and mouthing at Obi-Wan’s neck, before he suddenly stiffened and sighed, pulling away reluctantly. 

Padmé, who had been enjoying the show, frowned. “What—?”

“Ahsoka’s home,” Anakin said, annoyed but giving Obi-Wan a final kiss anyway. “She’ll know.”

“Come now,” Padmé said, stroking a hand on Anakin’s back encouragingly. “I’ve been practicing my shielding, you don’t have to stop.”

Anakin turned and smiled down at her. “Yes, but I’m not sure you can keep quiet _and_ keep your shields up at the same time, love.”

“Hmm, you’ve got me there,” Padmé purred. “Another time then. We’ll just have to send Ahsoka into town again in the future.”

“Sneaky.” Obi-Wan leant over and kissed the side of her face. “We should get dressed.”

“If we must,” Padmé agreed. “Though I call first dibs on the shower.”

Anakin sighed. “I miss your shower back on Coruscant. We could have all gotten in there. It was so good.”

Padmé had to agree. It had been a wonderful, spacious thing. Perhaps one day she’d get that apartment back and they could make use of it again. Positive thoughts. 

They’d get their lives back eventually. 

Probably.

Until then, Padmé was going to continue to make the most of it.


	21. Ben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man. Thank you so much for all waiting through that hellishly long gap, and my apologies it's taken 1000 years to get this chapter out. My uni course started back about a month ago and FUCK ME I am drowning in homework and assignments, so I can only work on this fic just before bed (which I do every night, but it makes writing stupidly slow). Please note that I have 0 plans to drop writing this fic, it WILL get finished, there just might be shitty gaps like this one when uni gets out of hand, so it's just a matter of waiting it out. Thanks for sticking with me :)
> 
> ADDITIONALLY:
> 
> 1) Sigh No More has reached 1000+ kudos (which I never, ever expected) so thank you to all of you who are reading it and enjoying it. I love all of you.
> 
> 2) Fucking huge shout out to chimerraa and their stunning fanart for this fic of Padmé and her boys. It is beautiful and I love it and you all need to go check it out [HERE](http://chimerraa.tumblr.com/post/156950794214/padme-her-boys-i-am-completely-and-entirely-in) on tumblr. Thank you again, you beautiful person. <3
> 
> As every other chapter, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism (I currently have a list going of 'things that are getting fixed when the fic is finished' so even if it's an issue from a while back, or an overreaching issue, do let me know). Thank you for all your lovely comments, and enjoy!
> 
> (How did this chapter get so long!?? This isn't even everything I wanted to put in. So much got shoved to the next chapter!)

Obi-Wan sat silently on the outcropping of rocks above the farm, just thinking. 

He and Ahsoka had spoken to Bail around a month earlier and he had given them both an assignment. Ahsoka was to go on a four month expedition to a number of planets that were making sounds of dissent. He wanted her to see how genuine their desire to resist the Empire was and to see if there were any local groups interested in joining an organised rebellion.

Obi-Wan, he wanted to keep out of the public eye, so Bail had asked him to investigate a couple of locations that looked like possible spots for bases, and one location that was suspected to belong to the Empire, but wasn’t appearing on any records. Bail thought that checking out all three locations shouldn’t take more than a week each, travel included, and so Obi-Wan had agreed, but asked to have his mission delayed for a while. He had finally felt like he and Padmé and Anakin had clicked into place as a trio, and he didn’t want to immediately run away from that and potentially upset the balance of their relationship. Bail had agreed and so while Ahsoka had left nearly a month ago, Obi-Wan was only just due to leave. He had minutes left, really. He had just wanted some time to meditate before he departed.

He was going to miss being home.

Ever since his and Padmé’s relationship had fallen together, things had been good. Things had in fact been beyond ‘good’ and were solidly settled in the realm of ‘fantastic’. He’d been terribly embarrassed when he’d kissed her without thinking during the week Luke was sick. He’d thought Padmé would be upset at him for invading her space in such a way, but she had once again surprised him by kissing Obi-Wan back while he had tried to apologise. Evidently she too had had enough of their little back and forth. He’d been past it for a little while, but had been nervous about making the next step, and so his sleep deprived brain had solved that problem for him.

When the three of them had fallen into bed together, Padmé clearly doing her upmost to seduce him, he’d been more than a little nervous. Stepping into a physical relationship with Anakin had felt more like a natural progression of their previous history together, whereas in his head, Padmé had always been this lovely thing that was to be admired from afar but never touched. He found her exceptionally attractive and he loved her to pieces, but he’d still been hesitant. Years of mental ‘hands-off’ made for and excellent psychological barrier.

Anakin had come to his rescue. He had coaxed Obi-Wan into lifting his shields at the first feeling of Obi-Wan’s anxiety in their bond, and gave him tips and encouragement as they went. It had been very…intimate. It had felt so terribly _right_. Since then, the three of them had had a few other forays together, all wonderful and exciting and Obi-Wan had absently wondered on a few occasions if it was possible to spontaneously combust from being far too happy, but it hadn’t happened so far so he figured he was safe.

He and Anakin however, had not quite taken their relationship to that next step.Anakin had near-begged for Obi-Wan to fuck him soon after they’d started dating months and months ago, but it hadn't seemed to have come up again. Obi-Wan _wanted_ it to be Anakin’s decision and was trying to wait for it to happen naturally, but his patience was slowly wearing away and he would likely just eventually _ask._ He was also interested in Anakin fucking him, but at this point, didn’t feel he was ready for such a thing with Padmé being present just yet, so he was leaving that for now. 

Either way, the current arrangement was perfectly fine and they were not really things to worry about. 

Everything would sort itself eventually. 

Learning Padmé had been a new experience. It wasn’t vastly different to how things were before, but there was a marked change in her actions. She was far more casual in her affections; before, they had been calculated and testing his defences, whereas now they were more natural and ever-present in their lives. She was generous with kisses and her time, often finding at least an hour in her day when she could just be near him or Anakin or both.

Obi-Wan should have assumed that now they they were together, Padmé could have sex with him seperate and independent of Anakin, but it hadn’t actually occurred to him until around a week after Ahsoka had left when Padmé surprised him mid-reading session on the couch. She’d muttered something about ‘getting to know each other without Ani’, shoved him to lay back on the couch, straddled him, and showed him exactly why Anakin had often come back from shore leave looking vaguely overwhelmed and overstimulated. 

When Anakin had come home, he'd glanced at the two of them, barely dressed and draped carelessly over the couch, before he had laughed, high-fived Padmé and disappeared to have a shower. It felt good to know there was no jealousy there and that the three of them fit together so seamlessly now.

Anakin continued to work tirelessly at his repair business and on his and Ahsoka’s pod-racer, now often taking Luke out with him when he did the latter. Padmé continued to work on anything and everything Bail sent her. Obi-Wan could see the fire in her eyes rekindle every time she dug deeper into the Empire's well of secrets at Bail’s behest. Padmé also used the work to teach Leia to read, a skill she was picking up unusually quickly. Luke was competent, but had no desire to push himself in that direction. Picture books were fine, thank you very much. However, Leia couldn’t read the longer words yet, but she did her best to figure out the shorter ones, lovingly pointed at by her mother.

He’d also noticed that on occasion that Padmé would seem quieter. Sadder. The third time he’d caught her at it, this time just sitting on the couch and staring blankly at a wall, he’d asked her about it. She told him about her family—he hadn’t known that Padmé was already an aunt or even that she had a sister—and how desperately she missed them, how it hurt her that they thought her dead, and that the twins would never know their family. 

“I know there’s nothing to be done,” Padmé had said softly. “It just hits me on occasion. I’ll be fine.”

It had stuck in his mind regardless. It just seemed an unnecessary cruelty to let her family go on thinking that Padmé was dead. Thus, he had tentatively put forward the idea of sending word to Padmé’s family that she was fine on his next trip out. Padmé had immediately pounced on the idea, her face lighting up with hope and adoration. 

“Please,” she’d said breathlessly, “I could write a letter or send a video—”

“We can’t leave physical evidence,” Obi-Wan pointed out.

Padmé pressed her lips together and frowned. “Can we do what we did with Bail and get Artoo to call home?”

Anakin nodded slowly. “I don’t see why not. I can even add another few layers of encryption to make sure it’s safe.”

Padmé had half-wanted to come with him, quietly suggesting the idea to Obi-Wan when Anakin wasn’t present, but they quickly realised that would mean leaving the children with just Anakin (which sure, he would manage fine, but it limited his ability to work) and it would multiply their chances of being recognised. Obi-Wan could just about get away with it, but Padmé was a beloved public figure on Naboo and they both knew it. It was too much of a chance.

They devised a plan for Obi-Wan to pose as a messenger sending Artoo back to the family, claiming Padmé had left the astromech to them in her will. Padmé was sure that would be enough to get him in the door. He hoped it would work.

Obi-Wan would be travelling as ‘Ben’ again, a dashing bounty hunter with excellent skills with a blaster and a ‘take no shit’ attitude he’d developed as Rako Hardeen. 

“Are you ready to go?” Anakin shifted beside him, boots scraping along the sand and loose stones on the ground. 

Obi-Wan had just about forgotten he was there. He turned his head and offered Anakin a smile. “One last thing.”

Anakin sighed as if mortally offended, but didn’t move from his seat.

Obi-Wan reached to the concealed hook beneath his tunics and unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. He held the weapon in his palm, weighing the thing carefully, before he held it out to Anakin.

Anakin flinched away, staring at the blade suspiciously. “What are you doing?”

“I would like you to look after my ‘saber while I am gone,” Obi-Wan said simply.

Anakin’s eyes flicked up to his for a moment, before dropping back down to the hilt. “Why?”

“Because I do believe it’s more dangerous to have it with me. Anyone who sees it will know what I was, and that’s not the kind of attention I need,” he replied.

Anakin nodded thoughtfully, eyes still tracing the shape of the weapon with his eyes.

There was a long silence before he heard Anakin mutter a thoughtful, “ _This weapon is your life_.”

Obi-Wan smiled. It was good to see that lesson was still in there, redundant as it was now. “And I trust you with mine, Anakin. Look after it for me?”

Anakin leant in and closed the space between them, pressing their lips together and placing his durasteel hand over the ‘saber, his fingers curling so it was almost like they were holding hands.

Anakin was smiling as he backed off, though there was a sadness about his eyes that Obi-Wan couldn’t place. “Okay, I will. Ready to go now?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

* * *

Obi-Wan and Artoo loitered around the port of Naboo at the crack of dawn, waiting for a clear gap in the stream of Imperial soldiers to appear. He was doing his best to hide his identity by having his whole body shrouded in a travellers cloak and a blue scarf wrapped about his neck which also half-covered his face. It had been one of Padmé’s that she’d kept from the ship when they’d first landed on Tatooine. She’d given it to him to take to remind him of home. It even still smelled like her. Currently, Obi-Wan was using it to hide the very obvious hickey Anakin had left on the side of his neck two nights before. Obi-Wan understood it to be _his_ way to remind him of home, and if it happened to point out the Obi-Wan was off limits, all the better. He’d been _very_ smug about it.

His trip from Tatooine to Naboo had been uneventful, hopping on a cargo ship that was bound for some other location, but was making a stop on Naboo. He and Artoo had made themselves useful by cleaning up the engine room and recalibrating a few faulty gauges. He was no Anakin, but after over a year of performing frequent maintenance on various bits of technology, he was getting pretty good.

Now he just had to get out of the kriffing hangar. 

Obi-Wan watched in frustration as another wave of troopers entered the hangar. Whoever was running this outpost was too good at their job.

Artoo beeped something urgent.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

Obi-Wan span violently, pulling up his blaster to the face of his attacker.

“Whoa there, Obi! Is that any way to treat an old friend?” The tattooed face of Quinlan Vos grinned back at him.

Obi-Wan blinked once before dropping the weapon, and then threw his arms around Vos in a tight hug. “Sith hells, Vos, I thought you were an Stormtrooper.” He pulled back. “It is wonderful to see you again. I didn’t know if you were alive.”

Vos looked well, and much like he did before Order 66 came down, although his hair was shorter than it had been, and his clothes were distinctly Nabooian in design; strangely elaborate while appearing simple and form-flattering.

Vos was looking at him with a bright grin. “I’d missed you too. I’d hoped you were alive. Never saw your name on the bounty lists though, so I couldn’t be sure. Also never thought I’d get such an enthusiastic hug from Jedi Councillor Kenobi.”

“Get fucked, Quin.”

“Still got mouth on you, I see, even if that handsome beard seems to have vanished. ” Vos winked at him. “Now, join me for a drink? I know a back way out of here.”

“Of course, but just a drink,” Obi-Wan said. “I have business to attend to eventually.”

Vos smiled. “Sure. Follow me.”

Obi-Wan, Vos and Artoo wound through a stack of crates toward the back of the hangar, before Vos whipped out a pass-card—the picture and name on it clearly indicated he’d stolen it—and swiped them through a door. They followed a series of corridors before Vos ushered them through another door and found themselves in the busy streets of Theed. Ten minutes later, they were seated at a small, rickety table in the corner of what must be the worst bar on Naboo (yet it would easily be the best on Tatooine) with a glass of darkoma each. The table was made of some thick wood, encircled on three sides by a connected bench on which Obi-Wan and Vos sat opposite one another, while Artoo settled onto a charging pad in the corner.

“So, Obi—” Vos started, leaning in with intensity.

Obi-Wan cut in. “It’s Ben, for now. Safer.”

“Of course. I’m using Verity,” Vos said. “So _Ben_ , what’s up?” 

Obi-Wan skimmed much of his story, mainly focusing on the work he was doing for the Rebellion, and mentioning in passing that he had a more permanent home elsewhere. It wouldn’t do to let anyone know where he was hiding, as much as he trusted Vos, it wasn’t worth the risk. He couldn’t put his children in danger like that. He spoke to Vos of going back to the Temple and vented bitterly about how the Empire was letting it rot. He also informed Vos of Palpatine’s true identity. Quinlan had spoken a few choice swear words at that, and added a few unflattering comments about the Empire.

His story told, he turned his curiosity on Vos.

Quinlan had apparently been planet hopping for the past two years. He’d initially been on Boz Pity with his troops, still mourning the loss of Ventress, when the Jedi Purge hit, and dumped a new bucket of anguish on top of him. From there, he only stayed in one place for as long as he could before he was recognised for what he was or there was enough suspicion that he had to move on. Naboo was just the current planet on a long list of others, and he had just been fortuitous enough to have been nearby and caught an echo of Obi-Wan's Force signature today and gone investigating. 

“Sure you’re not up for more than a drink?” Vos asked, a sly smile on his lips as a hand came to rest on Obi-Wan’s upper thigh. “I know a place.”

Obi-Wan resisted a laugh. “Very sure. Besides, is it me you really want, Vos?”

Quinlan looked away, eyes clouded by grief, and sighed. “No. Just the comfort. A friend.”

“I can give that without taking my clothes off,” Obi-Wan said honestly and slid along the curved bench to wrap his arm over Vos’ shoulder. It was, well, strange. The two of them had never been ones for cuddling or soft affection like this. Sex fuelled by lust, frustration or boredom, sure, plenty of that before and during the war, but it had never been about comfort. He’d never known Vos to be so calm, but then, the war had taken so much from them all, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that they had come out changed.

Quinlan leant into the hug, resting his head on Obi-Wan’s shoulder and heaving out a great sigh. 

“It was never meant to all go so wrong,” Vos said flatly.

Obi-Wan nodded, his chin rubbing against Vos’ thick hair. “No.”

“Do you miss being a Jedi?” Quinlan asked, voice barely audible.

Obi-Wan smiled absently. “Not anymore. I used to. I’ve made a new life, it’s…better.”

A chuckle jolted his head slightly. “Who is he?”

“None of your damn business, Vos.”

“Mmmhmm.” He could hear the smile in Vos’ voice. “10 credits say I already know.”

“Then keep it to yourself.”

Vos laughed and they continued in to chat and reminisce in quiet familiarity, still wrapped around one-another. Vos had apparently come across Luminara Unduli some thirteen months ago, but had seen no-one else before or since. He’d heard rumours of people who were dead, or alive, or conflicting accounts of both, but nothing definitive. Obi-Wan passed on “Fulcrum’s” comm-code (it was a special, Rebellion only comm that Ahsoka had handed him before she’d left) suggesting that if Vos ever felt like getting back at the Empire, he should call that number. Quinlan made a non-comital sound, but didn’t reject the offer. Eventually, they disentangled themselves and made an effort to finish their drinks.

“Well. I suppose I shall have to let you go then,” Vos said, swallowing back the last of his drink when they both ran out of words. “We’d best not swap information. It’s not safe. The Empire is still looking for our kind, and I’ve heard particular mutterings of yours and Skywalker's names. The Supreme Sith Lord is looking for you both.”

Obi-Wan had to smile. “We thought as much, but it’s truly lovely to know that’s the case.”

Vos pulled him into a tight hug. “Stay safe,” was muttered into his ear.

“You as well,” Obi-Wan said in return. “I hope I see you again.”

“May the Force be with you,” Vos said, more sincerely that Obi-Wan had ever heard him say in his life.

Obi-Wan pulled away from the hug to stare directly at Vos and said, “And with you, my friend.” A pat on the shoulder later, they parted ways. 

Walking away was far harder than it had any right to be, but knowing that Quinlan was alive and doing alright for himself, lightened something deep within him. They weren’t all dead. Not gone. Just…waiting, he supposed.

Obi-Wan arrived at the address Padmé had given him just before midday. He lurked around the house for a few hours to ensure there were no surveillance drones or patrols, but once it all seemed clear he approached the house. He knocked and the door opened to reveal a face similar to Padmé’s, but rather more pointed and sharp with blue eyes where Obi-Wan was used to brown. 

Sola.

“Hello,” Obi-Wan started primly, though kept his voice down, “I’m here to return this astromech droid to the Naberrie Family. Do I have the right house?”

“You do,” Sola said suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at him, “but that droid doesn’t belong to us.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “He belonged to Padmé Amidala and her will dictated he was to be left to her family.”

“Oh,” Sola said quietly. Her eyes dropped to look at Artoo sadly. 

“May I come in? There’s some paperwork that comes with him.”

“Of course.” Sola stepped aside to let him in the door and Obi-Wan tapped Artoo on the head, indicating he should send a message to Padmé and Anakin that they should get ready to answer if he called.

Sola shut the door behind him and led them down a hallway and into a wider dining room where the rest of Padmé’s family sat at the table. “Sorry, you caught us over lunch,” Sola explained, pulling out a chair for him to sit with them. “Can I offer you some water…?”

“Ben. And no, thank you, I’m fine,” Obi-Wan replied.

To his right sat Padmé’s parents, Ruwee and Jobal, plus one of Sola’s children whose name escaped him. The other child sat opposite their sibling and beside Sola and her husband, Maris. It was all very domestic, and the house was impeccably decorated. The room was filled with hazel wooden furniture with hints of blue and green adornments scattered around the room, giving the space a strong feeling of nature. It strongly reminded him of Padmé.

“Ben has brought us Padmé’s astromech,” Sola said flatly, sitting back down at the table. “Her will apparently left it to us.”

“Oh,” Padmé’s mother, Jobal, said, “I was wondering if someone would ever come.”

“Yes, though there are a few other things I need to discuss about the will, which may be difficult for the children,” Obi-Wan tried. Giving such sensitive information to children had seemed like a recipe for disaster.

Sola took the bait and suggested the children go play with their father for a time once lunch was done, and then suggested that they retire to a lounge room to discuss such matters. Obi-Wan of course agreed.

A long, heavy silence descended over the table as they finished eating. It was cold and tense. Obi-Wan could only imagine how it must be for them. Their family member missing for months before being found dead in a gutter and now here he was, some stranger, dragging those memories up and out into the light of day, forcing them to feel that loss all over again. His only consolation was that he was hopefully going to make their lives a lot better with this conversation. He just had to hold out.

Once the meal ended, the children and their father vanished out one door, before Jobal indicated that Obi-Wan follow them out a closer door and into a cosy lounge. He took a seat on a single chair, Artoo rolling up beside him, while Jobal, Ruwee and Sola sat pressed together on a longer couch. Sola’s hand was firmly wrapped in her mother’s.

“So, the will?” Ruwee pressed when no-one made a move to speak.

“Yes. Here’s the thing. There is no will,” Obi-Wan started, and noticing the way Ruwee tensed, plowed forward. “Padmé is not dead and thus there is no need for a will. She sent me to let you know—”

“And who _are_ you then?” Sola suddenly spat, turning furious.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

“You’re that Jedi,” Ruwee cut in. “In the war.”

Jobal was looking rather wet around the eyes, her grip still tight in her daughters hand, knuckles gone white.

“Yes.”

“And we should believe you why?” Sola continued, unhindered.

“Because I can prove it.”

Sola frowned. “Then do so.”

“Artoo?”

Artoo whistled his compliance and called home.

Padmé’s face and upper body quickly appeared on the projection and she waved, smiling beatifically, with an awkward, “Hey! Sorry! I’m not dead.”

Jobal immediately burst into deep, gut wrenching sobs, leaning forward to the projection before catching herself in trying to touch a hologram. Ruwee seemed to have frozen where he sat and Sola was staring between Obi-Wan and the hologram.

“How do we know that’s real?” Sola asked.

Padmé smiled, also looking a bit teary. “I’m very real. As real as the mole on your left foot, Sol.”

Sola drew her attention back to the hologram with renewed awe and interest before following in her mothers footsteps and dissolving into tears, though she looked far more furious about it than her mother did.

At witnessing her sister’s tears, Padmé was crying now, leaning forward in her seat, and trying to comfort her family. All four of them had completely lost their grip and Obi-Wan watched the scene with a vague sense of detachment. He wanted to be able to comfort Padmé, and he wanted to help her family, but they didn’t know him and he didn’t really know them, so, feeling helpless, he continued to sit awkwardly while everyone around him cried. It was…uncomfortable.

Of course neither twin could resist such a display and Leia clambered into view, attempting to get at her mother’s face. “It’s okay, Leia,” Padmé hiccuped completely unconvincingly, prying her daughter’s hands from her hair. “Let go of Mummy. I’m fine.”

Ruwee sniffled the last of his silent tears away, asking, “Who’s this?”

“Uh,” Padmé hiccuped again and took a moment to compose herself. “Dad, this is Leia, your granddaughter.”

Jobal laughed through her tears, straightening and wiping at her eyes. “You never do things by half, do you? Such a scandal.”

“Then you’re going to be expecting this,” Padmé said, back to smiling, and lowered Leia back to the floor and lifting Luke into the picture. “This is Luke. They’re twins.”

“Gods preserve us,” Ruwee whispered.

Jobal sniffed. “I continue to see a complete lack of partner, unless this gentleman here—”

“Ah no, they’re not biologically Obi-Wan’s,” Padmé said, looking offscreen. “He’s avoiding joining me—come here Ani, for Gods’ sake.” Anakin was forcibly dragged into the projection with Leia in his arms. He looked, in Obi-Wan’s opinion, very nervous.

“Everyone, this is Anakin, my husband and father of my children.”

“Well, at least you’re married,” Jobal began and then launched into a surprisingly long spiel on ‘how Padmé could do this to them?’, ‘how could she not invite them to the wedding?’, etc.

Padmé and Anakin apologised profusely until Jobal nodded, evidently satisfied she’d chewed them both out enough, and turned her attention on Obi-Wan. “So if this isn’t your husband, why is he waring a courting scarf? A scarf I’m fairly certain I gave to you with very clear instructions—”

Obi-Wan froze where he stood, Jobal’s second rant fading into the distance as his mind span in another direction.

_Why_ had Padmé given him such a thing? How were they supposed to explain that? Surely Padmé didn’t want her family to know that she was seeing two people. The three of them together. It was going to be tricky to work around the truth, but he wasn’t the Negotiator for nothing. Perhaps—

Padmé’s voice cut through his mental panic.

“Because I’m courting him,” she said, as though it were something _obvious_ and _normal_. _“_ The three of us are in a relationship.”

Oh. 

All right.

Obi-Wan was at a bit of a loss. He hadn’t really expected to be shown off to parents…or anyone else really. He’d kind of figured it was a ‘just for them’ kind of thing. He could work with this. He wasn’t panicking. 

“Oh, of _course_ ,” Sola said, suddenly examining Obi-Wan much more closely. Her gaze was laser focused and it was very unsettling. “So are we invited to the wedding when you marry _him_?”

Okay. Fine. He was panicking a little. Obi-Wan was very pleased he was out of range of Artoo’s camera because he was certain he looked a bit shaken. 

“Who knows,” Padmé shot back, clearly prickling at her sisters tone.

Sola looked at Obi-Wan again, sighed, and seemed to take pity on him, rerouting the conversation.

“So why all this secrecy? Why the fake death?” Sola asked, leant forward in her seat.

Padmé did her best to explain her choices, explaining why she and Anakin had had to keep it secret and how she’d wanted to tell them, then she gave them a civilian-safe version of why they were in hiding from the Empire; she’d pissed off the Emperor with her pro-democracy views and desire to help people, and that Anakin used to have a close relationship with the Chancellor and that he likely still wanted to use Anakin for his own ends. 

Padmé’s family accepted this explanation easily, expressing their sympathy and anger at the situation. The conversation then spiralled off in all directions, the Naberrie’s and the Skywalker's trading news and stories and just casual, familiar conversation. Padmé’s parents updated her on what they were doing, what their friends had been doing, and spent no small amount of time interrogating Anakin. Anakin took it pretty well, turning on his best charm and clearly doing his best to suck up to Padmé’s parents. Obi-Wan could not blame him in the least. Obi-Wan himself was doing his best to imitate a statue and not be noticed. 

Slowly, the conversation wound down and Luke and Leia began fussing on their parents lap, so they called it a day. Padmé said a long, tearful goodbye to her family, and impressed upon them the urgency that they could not tell _anyone_ that she was alive. They weren’t exactly pleased about it, but they understood.

Job completed, and feeling rather exhausted, Obi-Wan cut the connection and found himself alone with the Naberries. Thankfully, they all seemed too tired for interrogating him as they had Anakin, Jobal only going so far as to embracing him tightly, whispering her most honest thanks in his ear, before she informed Obi-Wan that he was welcome anytime. He then left.

He stayed one night at a clean hotel, and then followed Vos’ lead, stealing a swipe card from a Trooper, and slipping back into the hanger. From there, Obi-Wan began his journey to Riflor and then Phu and finally Aleen.

Riflor and Phu were easy. 

Riflor had a burgeoning Imperial presence, but it wasn’t being well received by the local Advozse population. On his second afternoon he’d encountered a protest demanding greater Advozse freedoms under Imperial rule. The planet seemed to have a huge amount of trade going on, importing droids, medical equipment and food, and exporting a wide range of ores, metals, supplies, repulser technologies and a healthy smuggling operation. As far as Obi-Wan could figure, it would be an excellent place for a rebel base, so long as they could get the population on side, or find a location that was far enough out of the way that it became a non-issue.

Phu was less promising. There was a much heavier Imperial presence and the population seemed far more resigned about its fate. The local Phuii Obi-Wan spoke to had no desire to seek help from the rebellion and had seemed offended that he had even asked. Unless something changed, he couldn’t see this being a good base location.

It was Aleen that worried him more.

There was an Imperial base, just as Bail had suspected, but the whole thing was deserted. He’d expected, well, something more than that. Either nothing, or an actual, functioning base were the two options he’d thought he might come across. Artoo had beeped something cryptically ominous about there being ‘underworld creatures’ on the planet, but had then also muttered something very unflattering about Threepio and Obi-Wan decided to just let it go. Artoo had always had a flair for the dramatic.

He’d circled the building once before deciding that it was actually deserted, and not just quiet, before he made his way in. Everything was still locked and had required Artoo to break them into the complex. It was eerily quiet as the pair of the explored the space, the only sounds audible were that of Obi-Wan’s footsteps and the mechanical whirring of Artoo’s wheels. There was basically nothing there. Anything that hadn’t been nailed down seemed to have been stripped from the building; there was no furniture, physical records, or knick-knacks of any kind, anywhere to be found. Eventually, they wound up in what seemed to be the data-banks. At his request, Artoo sliced into the machines and downloaded everything he could find, though upon initial inspection, it was all heavily encoded. Obi-Wan bade Artoo hold onto it anyway. He could send it on to Bail as is. He would surely have people who could do that sort of thing.

Obi-Wan had felt…uncomfortable the entire time he had been within the complex’s walls; it had almost felt as though there was a presence or someone watching him, and he let out a sigh of relief when they finally exited.

Four planets, three jobs, and one month later, they could finally set a course for home. 

He’d missed his family.

* * *

Obi-Wan had very little warning when a solid mass of muscle collided against him. The air was driven from his lungs and he was forced to take a step back to offset the force of the hit. He felt arms surround his body and a strong sense of _home_ echoing in in head.

A fervent, “Obi-Wan,” was whispered into his ear.

_Anakin_.

As suddenly as he had appeared, Anakin pulled back, grinning from ear to ear, and stared at Obi-Wan with the brightness of Tatooine’s two suns.

“Hello,” Obi-Wan said fondly, likely smiling back just as brightly. His hands came up to frame Anakin’s face and he took the time to just stare at him for a moment. He looked much the same as when he left a month before with his long hair pulled up into a loose bun, wisps escaping in the breeze. He felt very real beneath his fingertips. Alive. Warm.

“Is that all I get? Just a ‘hello’?” Anakin laughed, leaning forward and resting their heads together.

“Well, we are in public,” Obi-Wan said, still smiling. 

Anakin bit out a, “Kriff that,” and surged forward, stealing a desperate kiss from Obi-Wan. Anakin let out a small, satisfied hum in his throat and Obi-Wan could feel his smile against his lips. 

Obi-Wan himself was torn between letting such a glorious things continue and the mixed embarrassment of making out with someone on a crowded thoroughfare. Anakin’s hands curling through his hair and up the nape of his neck sealed his decision. 

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and kissed back, inhaling Anakin and letting his hands come to rest on Anakin’s shirt. He felt the longing in his chest from the last month begin to untangle from his heart, finally breathing easily again.

A wolf-whistle from Artoo startled Obi-Wan back into reality, his whole body twitching away from Anakin.

“Sorry,” he said, feeling embarrassed. About the kissing in public and then about being embarrassed about it and then for jerking away—

Anakin shook his head and just smiled at him. “It’s fine. Artoo’s a jerk.” Obi-Wan felt a wave of love and reassurance pulse along their bond.

“I missed you, dear one,” Obi-Wan said, voice thick with affection, running a thumb over Anakin’s cheek and up the scar beneath his eye. He always did look rather dashing with it.

Anakin blinked. 

“You can’t say those sorts of things and expect me to not kiss you again,” Anakin said, low and promising. “Let’s go home and you can show us how much you missed us there.”

Obi-Wan had to laugh. “Alright.”

Padmé was seated on the couch with a book on her lap and a twin on either side of her when they entered. A pair of excited shrieks immediately filled the space as Luke and Leia scrambled from the couch and bounded across the room to attach themselves to Obi-Wan’s legs.

“Daddy’s home!” Leia said excitedly, bouncing up and down on on her toes while Luke grabbed a hold of Obi-Wan’s leg while leaning back as far as he could possibly go and just smiling unsettlingly brightly up at Obi-Wan.

“Hello little darlings,” Obi-Wan said, crouching down and grinning back at them, “how are you?”

“Gooooooood,” Luke called back, still attempting to destroy Obi-Wan’s balance.

Leia grabbed his hand fervently, replying with a serious, “I am, um, good, thankou.”

“That is very good to hear. What have you been doing?”

“Helping!” Luke said brightly. “Playing, ummmm, ships! Fix clankers.”

“And you Leia?” Obi-Wan pressed, brushing her hair behind her ear before gently tapping her nose.

“Reading an’ helping an’, um,” she made an abortive gesture at Luke, “playing Soka.”

Playing Soka…“You’ve been training?”

She nodded emphatically. “Yes.”

“Very clever. Both of you.”

Obi-Wan felt a light touch on his shoulder and looked up to see Padmé hovering above him, a little grin on her face.

“Hello, darling,” Padmé said warmly.

Obi-Wan stood and gathered Padmé in his arms, lifting her a short ways off the ground. Her arms went around his neck, clinging on tightly and pressing a kiss to the side of his face. When her feet were returned to the ground, Padmé leant in and kissed him properly, her hand coming to rest lightly beneath his chin.

“You look tired,” Padmé said afterward, looking at him properly.

“I feel it,” Obi-Wan admitted. Travelling for a month really took it out of him. That and he hadn’t slept for the past 36 hours or so. He’d wanted to pre-emptively get on top of the planetary lag he was going to deal with, but then during the time he’d planned to sleep there’d been an engine emergency which he and Artoo had spent some time fixing, so by the time they’d sorted it, he’d been too wired to sleep again.

“Well, I think these two should have a little afternoon nap while I do some reading Bail sent me,” Padmé said. “I’ll leave to two of you to do whatever for a while. Maybe have a nap, Obi-Wan? I made a nice dinner to celebrate you being home, and we don’t want you falling asleep in your food.”

“Of course, Padmé.”

“Good.” She kissed him again and turned to the children. With some griping, Luke and Leia were escorted downstairs by their mother and presumably put to bed.

Obi-Wan felt Anakin slide up behind him, arms coming to wrap around his torso with his head moving to rest on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. He was so very warm.

“So were you going to tell me more about how much you missed us?”

Obi-Wan turned his head and brushed a kiss against Anakin’s chin. “I suppose I could.” Obi-Wan turned in Anakin’s arms so they were facing one another, Obi-Wan leaning back somewhat. “I suppose I should tell you how _terribly lonely_ it is in space with only Artoo for company. No-one to keep me _warm_.”

Anakin had a lazy grin on his lips, watching Obi-Wan closely. “Not a friend to be found,” Anakin said and a thought popped into Obi-Wan’s mind.

“Oh! You’ll never guess who I found on Naboo.”

Anakin blinked, looking a little thrown. “Uh, Padmé’s family?”

Obi-Wan kissed Anakin’s chin. “No. I ran into Quinaln Vos.”

“Oh.” A pause. “How was he?”

“About as good as you can be in these times. Jumping between planets currently, but I gave him Ahsoka’s rebellion comm-number if he ever wanted to help.”

Anakin paused for a moment before asking, “Did he offer to restart your relationship?”

Obi-Wan had to smile. Quin hadn’t been subtle and it had taken some effort on his part to not laugh in Vos’ face when he’d offered. “He did, though I think he was—”

Anakin took a half step back and dropped his arms. “Did you tell him about us?”

“Well no—”

“Did you sleep with him?”

Obi-Wan was initially too shocked to reply. He stood, just staring at Anakin in confusion, waiting for Anakin to laugh it off or change the direction of the conversation.

He didn’t.

Insulted and beyond horrified that Anakin could possibly think that, he responded with, “How could you even suggest that?”

“It’s not a ‘no’,” Anakin growled.

“Of course it’s a no!” Obi-Wan yelled back.

“Did you want to sleep with him?”

“Anakin what the hell has gotten into you—?”

“Why won’t you answer my questions?”

“Because they’re ridiculous!” Obi-Wan spat back, angry and hurt.

“Then just answer them!”

“No! I refuse to be insulted like this!”

Anakin scowled furiously. “You did, didn’t you?”

“No! Though if you were going to be like this about it anyway then maybe I should have!”

He regretted the words the instant they left his lips.

Obi-Wan watched Anakin’s anger drop away for a moment to be replaced by sadness and insecurity. His blue eyes dimmed and Anakin drew further away from him. He’d just wanted Anakin to hurt. To feel what Obi-Wan was feeling, but…

Obi-Wan turned and left the house before he could do any more damage.

He retreated to his rock above the house, sitting with his head in his hands, staring at his knees, and cursing his own existence and his stupid fucking mouth. He hadn’t meant it. He was just so tired and kriffing furious that Anakin would think he would cheat. The possibility hadn’t even crossed his mind when Quinlan had suggested it. He loved Anakin. So fucking much.

He’d still found a way to fuck it up regardless.

Fantastic.

Obi-Wan didn't look up when he heard the crunch of shoes along the rocky path up to his seat some time later. He didn’t want to move. Ever. He could stay up here and hide until the heat-death of the universe. It wasn’t the best plan but it would have to do.

A figure sat beside him and Padmé’s soft voice said, “It’s just me.”

Obi-Wan grunted in response, eyes still fixed on his knees.

Padmé sighed and asked, “Are you aware that the two of you are the biggest idiots in the galaxy?”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan replied flatly.

Padmé’s hand came to rest on his knee, her small, delicate fingers curling into the fabric of his pants. “Good to know we’re on the same page then.”

“I take it you heard all that?” Obi-Wan murmured.

“I caught the end of it,” Padmé confirmed. “You both did a good job on that one.”

“I know.”

“I did warn you it might happen.”

“I know.”

“You both need to fix it.”

“I know.”

“Also I’m terribly clever and fabulous and beautiful,” Padmé added and he could hear the smile in her voice.

Obi-Wan chuckled out another, “I know,” before he finally looked up at her.

Her eyes were sad as they met his, the light of the two suns reflecting in her brown eyes turning them a honey-golden colour.

“Something like this was bound to happen eventually,” Padmé said, tearing her eyes away from his and staring out at the horizon. “The two of you don’t exactly have a perfect track record for not yelling at one another and this is all still relatively new.”

Obi-Wan nodded in quiet agreement. He was hoping this wouldn’t happen but…she was right. He and Anakin did have a long history of disagreements and doing an excellent job of pressing each others buttons. “I need to apologise,” Obi-Wan said, placing his hand over hers on his knee, turning it over so their fingers could twine together.

“Maybe, but Anakin needs to more.”

Obi-Wan hummed. There was a long stretch of silence.

“Look,” Padmé sighed, “The thing is…I’m completely with you on this one. Anakin’s being a right kriffing asshole and I probably would have done the same thing as you.”

Obi-Wan paused and watched her closely.

She sighed. “I feel like I’ve been holding both your hands for too long in all of this and I’m trying to back off a little now that you’re both back on your feet. You need to work this out for yourselves without me interfering. Also, I’m pretty sure if I sided with you, which I would, it would just make this whole situation that much worse.”

Obi-Wan turned that over in his mind, feeling his heart soothe just a tiny amount knowing that Padmé was with him on this. He also agreed that if she involved herself that it would likely upset Anakin even more. The last thing they needed was for Anakin to feeling like they were ganging up on him.

Padmé tightened her grip on his hand. “Now, I would like this sorted out before dinner if you can. If not, I’ll survive. Get your thoughts together and come back inside whenever you’re ready.”

“Yes, darling.”

“Good lad,” Padmé said and leant in to leave a kiss against his lips. She paused. “I also wanted to say thank you for going to see my family. I just…I miss them all so badly, and it was killing me that they thought I was dead, I just couldn’t see a way of fixing it, so thank you. It really meant a lot to me.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “I’m glad I could help.”

At that, she stood up and began to walk away from him.

“Padmé, wait.”

She paused and turned back to face him, a questioning look on her face.

“How,” he began, trying to figure out how to word it. “How do you deal with all these intense feelings all the time?” He just. He felt like he could implode from feeling this way. The hot anger and insult bubbling under the surface of his skin, trying to burn it’s way out.

Padmé was thoughtful for a moment and then moved to kneel before him on the sandy rock-face. “By managing it,” she said slowly. “You…have to find a way to balance it; to let yourself feel whatever it is you’re feeling, without pushing it aside or wallowing in it. You used to do the first, and Anakin the latter.” Padmé cupped her right hand around his cheek and stroked her thumb against the light stubble. Obi-Wan felt her finger stutter against the harsh texture. “Acknowledge what you’re feeling, understand why you feel it if you can, but learn to let it go. Be angry at Anakin, you’re allowed to feel that, he was being a right asshole, but don’t hold onto it once this is over. That’s when things start to go downhill.”

It seemed easier said than done, but he nodded anyway. He understood what she was trying to get at. At the very least he could try.

“You’ve been doing really well this last year,” Padmé praised, smiling warmly. “Is it just Anakin that’s worrying you?”

He shrugged.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Probably not right now.”

“Hmmm, now probably isn’t the moment, is it?” she agreed. “Well. Don’t forget that I love you, and so does Anakin, even when he’s being a jerk about it. Don’t hold onto your worries for too long. We’re both here to listen, okay?”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan said and leant forward to brush his lips against hers. “You truly are terribly clever, fabulous and beautiful.”

“I know,” Padmé echoed, grinning. “I’ll see you later.”

Obi-Wan followed Padmé’s advice to soothe away the anger Anakin had been able to kindle within him. He let himself feel it, and examine exactly what it was that had upset him; It still hurt that Anakin could think that Obi-Wan would cheat on them, it was a hot spike through his chest remembering the exact moment he’d realised Anakin wasn’t messing with him…He had to wonder if Anakin really trusted him.

Heart and face set, Obi-Wan stood and returned to the homestead. His heart sat firmly in his throat as he entered the house. He spotted Padmé pottering about the kitchen, and she threw him a gentle smile when she heard the door close. Anakin was scrunched up on the couch, knees tucked to his chest, staring angrily at the table. He had a bad feeling about this.

“I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan said, sitting on the table in front of Anakin, trying to be as non-confrontational as possible. “I didn’t mean what I said. I was angry that you’d think I would cheat on the two of you. My comment was uncalled for.”

Anakin was silent but looked up at him searchingly.

“I would never do that to you,” Obi-Wan assured him. “I love you, Anakin.”

“I love you too,” Anakin muttered.

There was a long, pained silence.

Anakin blinked. “Padmé thinks I should apologise.”

Okay then. Not a great start. Obi-Wan heard Padmé sigh heavily from across the room.

“Do you want to?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin didn’t reply.

“Do you…not trust me?”

“I _mostly_ trust you.”

“Mostly?”

“You’ve lied to me before.”

Well, it was certainly true. Obi-Wan just wished that the thought didn’t feel like a cold, slimy creature was trying to claw its way out of his throat.

“Well. The feeling is mutual.” Obi-Wan choked out and decided the conversation was officially over. If Anakin didn’t want to do this, then that was fine. He didn’t want this either.

He stood and muttered a quick, “I need to go,” to Padmé.

“Obi, please don’t,” Padmé said, stepping up to him.

Obi-Wan just shook his head. He needed to leave as soon as possible before he did something stupid. Like crying.

He stood there for a moment and realised he couldn’t really go anywhere. He could take the speeder into town but that left the others without it. He could just walk off into the desert for a while but he wouldn’t get very far and he’d probably just get himself into trouble. His room then.

“I’ll be downstairs,” he said finally, grabbing his bag from the floor and leaving.

Obi-Wan shut his door firmly behind him. He needed to do something else for a while. Anything else. He dug around in his bag found his blaster.

A few hours or so later he had a clean blaster and a report written to send to Bail in the morning, but he was out of things to do. He still felt shaken. Jittery. Like his insides were too big for his outsides. Like he wanted to shake out of his skin and perhaps blow up a large structure. Just something to let out this energy.

It felt terrible.

Out of ideas and frustrated, Obi-Wan climbed onto the bed and curled up around his pillow.

He felt…stupid.

He felt like a fucking _Padawan_ and it was excruciating; acting like some spurned, love-struck teenager, curled up on his bed and trying not to think about the whole afternoon. All he had wanted was to come home to the people he loved and be happy. He’d missed them all desperately; missed Anakin’s relaxed, charming smile, Padmé’s bell-like laugh, and the bright personalities of the twins.

Instead this had happened.

Obi-Wan’s chest clenched painfully at the memory and his eyes prickled uncomfortably remembering how Anakin’s eyes changing so suddenly from anger to deep hurt. Anakin’s apathy at fixing things. How Anakin just…didn’t believe him. Didn’t trust him.

Force this was just stupid. This was pathetic. How could he have allowed himself to be so attached! Sure, it had seemed like it was going well, but when had he and Anakin ever been on perfectly good terms.

Perhaps it was for the best. Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. Perhaps it was always going to fall apart.

He buried his face into the pillow.

He should cut his losses and leave tomorrow. Surely Bail would have another mission he could go on. He could ask in the morning.

Obi-Wan found it hard to swallow.

A knock sounded at the door.

Anakin’s voice floated through the wood. “Can I come in?”

Obi-Wan faintly wondered if it was possible to just casually dissolve into the Force to get away from Anakin for a little longer. He didn’t feel up for another argument. It would be best to get it out of the way though.

Obi-Wan sat up, placed the pillow back in it’s proper place and replied, “Yes.”

Anakin entered the room cautiously, eyes lowered and moving in a similar pattern as to when he’d messed up as a Padawan and was worried about what Obi-Wan would say. Anakin shut the door softly behind him and finally looked up.

“Are you crying?” Anakin blurted out, disbelieving.

“Of course not,” Obi-Wan said, and attempted to find the subtlest way to wipe his eyes. He didn’t think he’d been crying, but it was a possibility. “I’m fine.”

A heavy pause.

“Look, I’ll leave in the morning,” Obi-Wan said quickly. “I can—”

“No! I—” Anakin started. “Don’t leave.”

“I can’t stay here. Not after this,” Obi-Wan said. He couldn’t remain here knowing now what it was like to have the two of them and be unable to have it anymore.

“What—? Obi-Wan we haven’t broken up,” Anakin stated firmly, before a sliver of doubt crept into a quiet, “have we?”

Obi-Wan sighed. “You tell me, Anakin.”

“I don’t want that,” Anakin said. “Having one argument doesn't mean we’re breaking up. Padmé and I have disagreed on all sorts of things… I just…wanted to be angry at you for a bit longer. ”

“Why!? Because of some kriffing imaginary slight against you! I told you I didn’t sleep with Quinlan!” He could see Anakin bristle at Obi-Wan’s raised voice, but he refused to back down from this. Yes he’d fucked up by biting back earlier, but Anakin was beyond out of line. “What is it you’re so hung up on?”

“Why didn’t you tell Vos about us?” Anakin asked, his voice sharp.

“Force help me—because, one; you’re hiding from the Emperor and Padmé’s meant to be dead and I’m not exactly meant to be broadcasting your existence to everyone I meet, and two…I wasn’t aware this was something we told other people about,” he admitted.

Now Anakin was staring at him in confusion.

“What? Why wouldn’t it be?” Anakin asked.

“I…don’t know.” He hadn’t really thought about it and he steadfastly ignored the dark voice in the back of his head whispering  _not good enough_ , because that voice could go fuck itself. He’d just…assumed it was private, and when the galaxy went back to normal, Padmé and Anakin wouldn’t want to broadcast the fact the three of them were together to everyone. It would be unseemly, surely.

Anakin made an aborted step closer. “My family knows, Jeina and her husband know, Padmé’s definitely told Bail; Sith hells, anyone who will listen to me for more than five minutes tends to hear about it. We were obviously going to tell people.”

“Obviously,” Obi-Wan echoed, deadpan and crossing his arms. He suddenly felt trapped and wanted out. He was feeling like a fool again.

“Why are you upset?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan was silent, wondering how he could back out of this conversation and possibly the room.

“We have no reason to hide it out here,” Anakin said. “There’s no reason to keep it a secret. I don’t _understand_ —”

“And after the Empire is gone?” Obi-Wan asked.

Something clicked behind Anakin’s eyes, some kind of understanding flickering into life. “Nothing has to change. I never want to hide this. Never again. You’re both mine and I will fight everyone to keep you both. Got it?”

Obi-Wan let out a funny hiccup-slash-laugh. The sentiment was very sweet, though it came out a little more threatening than Anakin was likely intending it to be. “Does that mean we’re okay?”

“I—yes. I came downstairs to say sorry,” Anakin said. “I’m sorry I accused you of cheating. I do know you wouldn’t do that to us, and I do trust you, but…”

“But?”

Anakin shifted back and forth on his feet, his hands fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt. “I worry that when you leave that you’re going to find someone better and you’ll leave us. Vos was exactly the sort of thing I was worried about, so…um.”

“You’d already obsessed over it before I even brought it up,” Obi-Wan surmised.

Anakin grimaced. “Yeah.”

“I don’t _want_ anyone else—” Obi-Wan said, but Anakin jumped in.

“You could have anyone; not the two of us who are already married and have children and are exiled to fucking Tatooine of all places, wasting time until Palpatine falls from power because he wants me as a fucking puppet—” Anakin cut himself off, his voice having been rising steadily. He looked away. “You could do better.”

Obi-Wan had to sigh. He was exhausted and this whole afternoon had just been so emotionally draining. He just wanted this done with. “You are exactly what I want,” Obi-Wan said in the voice he’d used to use on Qui-Gon when he was being stubborn. “Marriage and children and backwater moisture farm; all of it. So long as I have you both, that’s all I want.”

It was true. He hadn’t actively been thinking about it in such a way (never given a huge portion of thought to what he wanted, really) but now that the words had jumped from his lips, he could feel the rightness of them. This was what he wanted. His family. His home.

When he looked up, Anakin was staring at him hopefully.

“Can I hug you?”

Obi-Wan nodded and opened his arms to Anakin who covered the space between them in two steps. Anakin’s arms came around his shoulders and he climbed into Obi-Wan’s lap, a leg on either side of Obi-Wan’s hips, and the pair flopped back onto the bed.

Anakin shuffled for a moment, getting comfortable, his whole body splayed on top of Obi-Wan, before he settled, resting his head on Obi-Wan’s chest. Anakin inhaled, curled his durasteel hand into the fabric of Obi-Wan’s shirt, and made a happy sigh in the back of his throat. Obi-Wan placed his left hand over Anakin’s mechanical one, and lost his right in Anakin’s increasingly long hair. Honestly the boy felt like petting a bantha nowadays.

It did however feel absolutely perfect. Warm and secure with Anakin plastered against him, near-purring from happiness.

He’d thought he’d lost this…thought he’d lost his home again.

Obi-Wan tipped his head back slightly, attempting to cut off the tears beading at his eyes. He didn’t want to ruin this.

Anakin must have noticed how his breath had faltered and lifted his head to investigate.

“I’m _fine_ —” he stated reflexively.

Anakin just shushed him, curled in closer and muttered, “It’s okay,” into Obi-Wan’s neck.

That was evidently the last remaining vestments of Obi-Wan’s control, and he melted into silent sobs, turning his head to press against Anakin’s, inhaling the warm scent of his hair.

“I keep forgetting that you have feelings—or rather, that you let yourself express them so much now,” Anakin said quietly, and Obi-Wan could feel his voice reverberating through his chest. “I didn’t mean to make you think that we were over.”

Obi-Wan only managed to make a little hum in response.

Anakin then spoke softly, gently distracting him by filling Obi-Wan in on everything that had gone on while he’d been away. Luke and Leia had continued growing much in the same ways they had been before; gaining height and weight and vocabulary quickly, but it had spread into a fierce desire to imitate their parents. Leia’s favourite thing was to follow her mother and father around and imitate most of what they were saying, even if her version was a little garbled. Luke just wanted to do everything Anakin and Padmé did; fix the vaporators, chop the vegetables, and clean up the toys scattered on the floor, so they’d taken to giving him little jobs to appease him. Anakin had also had picked up some of Ahsoka’s training slack, but it was more of a ‘when he had time’ thing than something regular and consistent.

Apparently Anakin had also worked up the courage to tell Padmé the truth about the whole Temple disaster while he was away. Anakin talked about how scared he’d been to tell her, but he finally couldn’t take keeping it from her. She’d initially been very quiet, her eyes staring at him in horror, as he told her what had really happened. Once she had time to process it however, Padmé had then launched into a good hour long rant about Palpatine, while Anakin had listened in stunned silence, thanking every star he could name that Padmé hadn’t left him.

Obi-Wan chuckled into Anakin’s hair, whispering that he would have loved to hear that rant.

Anakin then continued filling the space between them with the goings on of Tatooine and how the pod he was building was progressing before they lapsed into silence.

“I really missed you,” Obi-Wan said into Anakin’s hair. He’d stopped crying some time ago, just happily listening to Anakin talk and fill the holes between them with calm words and warm affection. He felt immeasurably better than he had earlier.

Anakin tilted his head up and placed a brief kiss to the underside of Obi-Wan’s chin. “Same. It hasn’t been the same without you. I’ll have you know Luke moped for a week.” A pause. “I might have as well.”

“You poor darlings,” Obi-Wan said gently and swiped his fingers down the side of Anakin’s face, admiring his fine features. He traced the outline of Anakin’s lips before caressing around his button nose and drawing his finger up the bridge to his brow.

“I’m going to be forced to kiss you if you keep doing that,” Anakin informed him.

Obi-Wan resisted smiling, letting out a fake-horrified, “ _Oh, no_ ,” and continued on as he had been.

“Right,” Anakin declared, and pushed himself up before kissing Obi-Wan soundly on the edge of his mouth.

Obi-Wan laughed, wrapping his arms around Anakin’s shoulders, a bright burst of joy erupting in his chest. This is what he’d missed.

Anakin persisted in his kisses, haphazardly scattering them over his face. Obi-Wan flipped the pair of them, catching Anakin at his shoulders and rolling them over so Obi-Wan was hovering above him, able to see his grinning face properly. Obi-Wan ran his hands along Anakin’s arms, just watching, before they slid up to curl in between Anakin’s fingers, Anakin said nothing, and curled his fingers in return, happily staring up at Obi-Wan.

After drinking in his fill of the view, Obi-Wan leant down and tentatively kissed Anakin.

Anakin responded with a happy hum in his throat and kissed back, hands faintly straining against Obi-Wan’s, his whole body attempting to curl closer to him.

A rumble sounded between them.

“I suppose we’ve missed dinner,” Obi-Wan said, pulling back an inch or so.

“Padmé said she’d leave some in the cooler for, and I quote, ‘when I was finished being an idiot’,” Anakin said.

“Are you finished?”

Anakin shot him a smile. “For now, I guess.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, kissed his nose and sat up. “Then we should go eat and then go to bed. I’m have to say that I’m exhausted.”

“That sounds good.”

* * *

Obi-Wan found himself covered in twins for a good two weeks after coming home. Luke, as Anakin had said, just wanted to constantly do whatever it was the adults were up to. Luke wandered into his bedroom early the next morning, evidently having been released from his crib by Padmé, and climbed into bed with Anakin and Obi-Wan, snuggling in-between the two of them.

It had been wonderful to wake up to. Luke’s little face squashed up against his chest, blue eyes staring fixedly up at his Dads, and his little pudgy fingers twisting in Obi-Wan’s sleep shirt. Anakin had kissed Obi-Wan and then Luke, who clambered into Anakin’s chest and started talking to Anakin in disjointed phrases about breakfast.

Luke had then followed Obi-Wan around for the most of the day, just trying to help him out. If he was unpacking his bag, then Luke was loitering beside him, waiting patiently to be handed a shirt or sock to be shoved into any drawer Luke could reach. He’d then helped set breakfast, carefully placing the spoons beside the bowls on the table, and then collecting them up after. It was terribly endearing. Leia would also help out, but it was Luke who was absolutely set on constantly involving himself.

Leia just talked at him endlessly and sat herself in his lap at every opportunity. She talked to him about things around the house, got him to read to her as often as she could, and would constantly ask what a word was or what something meant or why he was doing something. To Obi-Wan, Leia seemed very intelligent and inquisitive; she'd seemed to have inherited Padmé’s determined nature and Anakin’s ability to obsess over knowing absolutely anything on a given subject. Luke seemed more emotionally driven than her sister, while still having his fathers intense love of machinery.

Obi-Wan and Anakin settled back into their previous relationship with no more major bumps like the first day. Padmé had been slightly cooler than usual with them both, which seemed fair; the pair of them had done an excellent job of cocking up a nice evening; but it only lasted a day or so, and thus their lives retuned to normal, minus one tall Togruta.

Ahsoka had called once to chat and have some time with the twins. So far, her mission to approach potential rebels had either been going well, or had been lacklustre. Some people, most according to Ahsoka’s reports, were interested in properly fighting back and then she stuck around to help set up a small cell. Others saw the chance of formally standing up against the Empire as too dangerous, and backed down, though one group had muttered about possibly joining up later if the rebellion gained more traction. Ahsoka had grumbled about it, but Obi-Wan could see where they were coming from. So far, she’d had no major run-ins with the Empire and they all counted their lucky stars for it.

A month after he returned home, Obi-Wan was sitting on the couch with Leia sprawled over him as she did her best to read him a book. Luke was lying on the floor staring at the ceiling, apparently doing nothing, but Obi-Wan could feel him reaching out into the Force with inquisitive glee. Obi-Wan was keeping half an eye on him so that he didn’t stretch himself too far, but most of his attention was on Leia. 

Padmé and Anakin had gone into town—Anakin had a job and Padmé wanted to visit Jeina and get some shopping—and so Obi-Wan was watching the twins. His twins.

“Daddy, I want outside,” Leia said suddenly. “See a bantha.”

Bantha had become the twins go-to word for anything with four legs and fur, but they still liked actual banthas the most. The wooly creatures had taken to appearing onto the Skywalker property on occasion once they realised that the small humans would try to bring them water and snacks.

“You want to go outside?” Obi-Wan questioned.

“Want to go outside,” Leia echoed and Luke sat up suddenly, wide eyed and excited.

“Outside,” Luke confirmed.

Decision made, the three of them went out, both twins carefully putting their shoes on at the door before running wildly into the sands.

Luke screamed his joy into the sky, running with his arms outstretched and his little round face fixed upon the sky. Obi-Wan had very few doubts that Luke would be up and flying around the galaxy the moment he was allowed to.

Leia ran after Luke, yelling something unintelligible before she threw herself at him and the pair tumbled into the sand. Obi-Wan sat and watched as the pair rolled around in the sand for a while, then made a small sand city, before they just lay flat on their backs pointing at the sky and whispering to one another. It brought a smile to his face to see them so happy and carefree.

When she eventually became bored of this, Leia sat up and ran back over to Obi-Wan and plonked herself to sit across from him on the sand, mimicking the way he crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knees.

“No banthas,” Leia informed him.

Obi-Wan smiled. “Not even one?”

“Nah-uh.” Leia shook her head.

“How uncivilised of them to not tell us they weren’t coming for dinner.”

Leia giggled, parroting back, “How uncillised,” in her most offended voice.

Obi-Wan had to choke back a laugh. “Yes. What were you and Luke doing?”

“Looking up,” Leia said. “Help Soka.”

“You’re helping Ahsoka?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Mmm-hmm,” Leia agreed. “You’re helping.”

Obi-Wan frowned. “What do you mean?”

Leia just shrugged, repeated, “Help Soka,” and went about drawing some shapes in the sand before her. 

“Mum! Dad!” Luke yelled suddenly, drawing Obi-Wan’s attention over to where the other twin was now standing, pointing excitedly at a speeder rapidly approaching the homestead. Obi-Wan felt out toward the vehicle and felt Padmé and Anakin’s familiar presences. All was fine. 

Obi-Wan called Luke over to him and Leia, and sat him down to wait for the speeder to pull up safely. When the rumble of the speeders engine had faded, Obi-Wan released his hold on the back of Luke’s shirt and watched him and Leia sprint across the yard to greet their parents. Obi-Wan stood and brushed the granules of sand from his pants and followed the pair at a more sedate pace.

“What, not going to sprint into my arms?” Anakin teased Obi-Wan when he caught up, both of Anakin’s arms now occupied by a child babbling excitedly at him.

Obi-Wan grinned. “There appears to be no room.”

“Boys. Less flirting and more helping me bring these bags in, please,” Padmé called from the other side of the speeder.

“I’ll help,” Obi-Wan called back, before speaking to Anakin. “You take those two inside.”

Anakin nodded and headed in with the twins.

“How were they?” Padmé asked, handing him a heavy bag, presumably filled with food and necessities.

“Perfectly fine. They had a lovely time rolling around in the sand. Disappointed in the lack of banthas, however.”

Padmé smiled. “Everyday can’t be bantha day.”

“Very true.”

The two of them, now laden with bags, followed Anakin inside. The three of them went about unpacking the bags, with Luke and Leia being given unbreakable objects and clear instructions on where to put them, though a bag of rice still managed to end up among the stuffed toys under the table. Lunch was then organised and everyone was fed, before Obi-Wan and Anakin took the twins downstairs for their afternoon nap, Padmé begging off to go have a shower citing that the sand the speeder had kicked up was irritating her. Artoo was already in the twins room with Threepio, both quietly recharging on the pad that Anakin had constructed while Obi-Wan had been away. It made sense given that Artoo would often play holos for the twins before they went to sleep. It also seemed to make Anakin feel better to know what Threepio was watching over the twins at night.

Obi-Wan placed Leia down into her crib and ignored her protests of, “No sleep,” through a tiny yawn. He kissed her forehead, tucked Gub up beside her and backed away. Anakin was laying a thin blanket over Luke when he looked over. They left Artoo and Threepio in with the twins, the pair of them sleepily staring up at Artoo's projection. Obi-Wan thought it looked lovely. Artoo had apparently cut the ship recordings so that there was less battle, and more fluid patterns and soothing shapes. 

The droid really did love the two of them.

Anakin leant against the wall in the hallway and watched Obi-Wan pull the door shut behind them. Obi-Wan made it two steps from the door before a hand caught him. He turned to see Anakin smiling sweetly at him, still leaning casually against the wall, and gave his hand a small tug. 

“So I fixed up the cooling unit at Brato’s surgery today. He’s overwhelmed with business at the moment and it setting itself on fire was the last thing he needed,”Anakin said conversationally, his fingers rubbing soft circles on Obi-Wan’s hands.

“Wasn’t particularly _hard,_ ” Anakin continued, and tilted his head in such a way that allowed his hair to fall beautifully over one shoulder, and expose his neck on the other side.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, screwed the bolts on _real_ tight.”

Oh wow, okay, this was apparently flirting. “Do you want to kiss or do you want to talk about machinery, because I’m getting some mixed messages here,” Obi-Wan said. “I know those two things are very similar for you, but they are really not so for me.”

Anakin shot him an unimpressed look. “I’m seducing you. Obviously.”

“Obviously,” Obi-Wan echoed, smiling back.

Anakin’s left hand released his own and swept up through Obi-Wan’s hair. Anakin watched his action intently before he paused and grinned in a way that warned of nothing good.

“Is this a grey hair, Obi-Wan?” Anakin said, his fingers tugging at a patch of hair on the right side of his head.

Sometimes, Anakin was so very spot on when making a pass at Obi-Wan, but some days, and particularly right now, Obi-Wan was not entirely sure what he was going for. Obi-Wan _had_ spotted a small patch of grey hairs there, but was choosing to ignore such knowledge.

Time to take matters into his own hands.

“I’m think I’m going to have to show you how to seduce someone properly.”

“Oh yeah?” Anakin tilted his head, interested.

“Hands off,” Obi-Wan said lowly. “On the wall.”

“Yes, General,” Anakin taunted, but followed the instruction. 

Obi-Wan pressed Anakin back, a hand on his shoulder and the other on his waist, holding him firmly against the wall. He crowded Anakin in, hands firm, but the rest of his body just hovered an inch or so from Anakin. Anakin’s hands were pressed flat against the cold wall, fingers scrunching up and down in a way that reminded Obi-Wan of a predator waiting to strike. Dark eyes stared hungrily at him and Anakin’s mouth hung slightly open as he let Obi-Wan manhandle him. 

They both knew that if Anakin wanted to resist, he could easily do so. Somehow, that knowledge made this even more enchanting; that Anakin was allowing him to hold him like this, while taunting him with the promise of real contact. 

“You’re teasing,” Anakin grumbled and tilted his head back invitingly.

“And _you,”_ Obi-Wan said and smiled up at him, leaning in close, but not letting his mouth quite touch Anakin, “are trying to trick me into kissing you.”

“Is that so terrible?” Anakin breathed out, tilting his head down to let their noses brush, and watched him unblinkingly.

Obi-Wan leant in just enough for his lips to graze over the edge of Anakin’s mouth, catching the way his breath stuttered against Obi-Wan’s skin. When he pulled back, Anakin whined in frustration and made a pitiful attempt to push back against Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan just smiled indulgently at him. He took some time just to watch Anakin; the harsh rise and fall of his chest, the way his hair fell over his shoulder, the faint tinge of pink colouring the top of his cheeks, the depth of colour hidden behind his eyelashes. He was…exquisite.

“I hope you’re not just window shopping, Obi-Wan,” Anakin said.

“But the view is just so lovely,” Obi-Wan returned. 

Anakin rolled his eyes, but Obi-Wan noted the curling sense of satisfaction echoing through their bond. “You’re awful.”

“That’s a terrible thing to say to someone if you want them to kiss you. You should also probably not be pointing out someone’s potential grey hairs.”

Anakin groaned in annoyance. “Obi-Wan…”

The door creaked.

“I’ve been wanting to ask if your, ah, offer still stood?” Obi-Wan started tentatively.

Anakin frowned, thinking. “Which offer?”

Now or never. “Months ago. You asked me to fuck you—”

“Yes,” Anakin blurted immediately, eyes wide and dark and fixed on Obi-Wan as if he were the centre of the universe. “Please, Force, yes.” Anakin’s hands sprung from the wall and his fingers gently held Obi-Wan’s face still as he connected their mouths.

Anakin was demanding, hot and feverish with hands roving wildly. Obi-Wan’s fingers became lost in Anakin’s hair as he kissed back with enthusiasm and desperation. He inhaled Anakin’s moan as he tugged on a fistful of curls and pressed his entire body against Anakin, firmly pinning him to the wall. He just wanted to be _closer—_

Artoo beeped something.

Obi-Wan ignored him and continued to kiss Anakin like he was the only bright thing in the galaxy. His hands trailed from Anakin’s hair to his waist, keeping him secured between Obi-Wan and the wall. Heat bubbled in his chest, desperate to get at more of Anakin, their breath audible between them.  Obi-Wan muttered a string of awful, sappy, romantic sayings he’d picked up on his travels against Anakin’s lips, and felt a bright burst of joy when Anakin _giggled_ at the praise. Anakin raked his hands through Obi-Wan’s hair and pressed their foreheads together, whispering, “I always knew you were an awful sap,” before kissing him again.

While Anakin was distracted, Obi-Wan set about undoing Anakin’s shirt, button by button, carefully revealing strips of skin. He kissed his way down Anakin’s throat, relishing the happy humming sounds Anakin was making that he could feel against his lips. His hands curled tightly into Anakin’s shirt, fumbling with a button, as Anakin’s fingers slipped beneath his tunic, making to pull the thing off, and yes _please_ —

“Hell—oh my goodness,” came a shocked voice from their right.

Obi-Wan sprung back from Anakin as if electrocuted. Anakin jolted in a similar fashion, adopting a loose battle stance, ready to take on the sudden intruder. 

That sounded like…

Bail’s holo-projection floated before Artoo, while the man himself made a valiant effort to look anywhere but the two of them. 

“I am…so sorry. I told Artoo it was an emergency, I didn’t realise he would…do that,” he tried.

“Artoo, you little shit,” Anakin muttered and attempted to smooth his hair down and re-button his shirt.

Obi-Wan was absolutely mortified. He cleared his throat while following Anakin’s lead in an attempt to appear more composed and not as though he’d been attempting to have his way with Anakin against a wall. “What’s the emergency, Bail?”

“Ahsoka. We lost contact with her two days ago. She was meeting with a potential rebel cell on Jabiim, but we think it went wrong. We’ve heard nothing and I don’t have anyone else to send.”

“Kriff,” Obi-Wan muttered, mind switching immediately into battle mode. “I’ll go now.”

“Thank you,” Bail said, “I’ll send through all the relevant information to Artoo…and sorry again.”

Obi-Wan sighed, “It’s not your fault; _That_ is squarely on Artoo.” He shot a glare at the droid. “He knew what he was doing.”

Artoo whistled innocently.

“Goodbye, Obi-Wan. Anakin.”

The feed cut.

Obi-Wan sighed again and turned to Anakin. “I suppose this will have to wait.”

Anakin smiled ruefully. “I can totally believe Ahsoka is still trying to cock-block us from across the galaxy.”

Obi-Wan laughed, an ugly, unexpected snort of laughter. “I don't know where you learnt such language. Clearly I left you too long with the 501st. Some of the things I heard come from their mouths…”

“Honestly, they learnt that one from me,” Anakin said, smiling proudly. “Besides, you always had the best swear words. Rex was always impressed when you dropped the really good Mando’a ones.”

Obi-Wan just smiled. “Drive me into town?”

Anakin leant in for a lingering kiss. “Of course. You pack, I’ll go tell Padmé.”

Obi-Wan sighed, watching Anakin leave, and tried to push away the arousal that had been floating at the edge of his being. 

Next time.

Ahsoka first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artoo you little fucker.


	22. Dangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Artoo would like to apologise for last chapter, and told me to pass on that he promises not to do it again this chapter ;P
> 
> As every other chapter, it is un-beta'd, so please feel free to point out issues or provide constructive criticism (I currently have a list going of 'things that are getting fixed when the fic is finished' so even if it's an issue from a while back, or an overreaching issue, do let me know). Thank you for all your lovely comments, and enjoy!
> 
> (Somehow these just keep getting longer... Send help...)

Obi-Wan dropped from the grid for two weeks.

Anakin had fretted for a good twenty-four hours after Obi-Wan had left, worried for Ahsoka, and worried for what Obi-Wan was about to walk into. Anakin had handed Obi-Wan his ‘saber back before he’d left, feeling that it needed to happen, even if he wanted to continue to hold onto it. He had nearly cried from happiness when Obi-Wan had asked him to look after it before his mission over a month ago. Well, _initially_ his brain had gone straight to panic mode because the last time Obi-Wan had tried to give Anakin his ‘saber it had been _bad,_ but instead Obi-Wan was being kind of romantic.

Anyway. The more time that passed, the more Anakin worried that giving Obi-Wan the ‘saber had been a terrible, dangerous idea that made him a target, and added to the fact that even Bail had seemed worried, Anakin was a little one edge. The twins seemed stressed as well, though he figured they were picking up on his and Padmé’s worries. They were certainly snippier than usual and were antagonising each other more. Padmé was also trying her best to support Anakin and the twins, but he could tell she was also concerned, just in a more subdued manner. However, they kept themselves busy with their usual jobs and chores, as well as taking the time to find some solace in each other’s company and bodies. 

Finally, after two long weeks, Anakin received a message that read, ‘Ahsoka fine. Coming home.’

Three days later saw Anakin pacing furiously outside the spaceport in Mos Eisley while Padmé and the twins sat in the speeder, their heads swinging back and forth as they watched him walk. They were late. 

Twenty minutes of fretting later Anakin spotted the top of Ahsoka’s montrals heading towards them in the crowd. Anakin swiftly zig-zagged through the throng of people and came face to face with Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, his heart beating wildly.

“Are you okay?” Anakin asked Ahsoka, his eyes quickly cataloguing as much of her as he could. She had a solid, dark bruise running along the right side of her face and beneath her eye, but otherwise he couldn’t see anything particularly worrying. No blood, no limps, no heavily bandaged areas.

Ahsoka gave him a weary smile. “Yeah, tired and sore, but fine. Obi-Wan is pretty well practiced at rescuing people.”

“It’s good to have you home,” Anakin said before he hugged Ahsoka. He then turned to her left and wrapped Obi-Wan up in his arms but immediately released him at a pained hiss.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” Anakin asked, his hands hovering just above Obi-Wan’s waist.

“Just a few bruises. It’s fine,” Obi-Wan asserted. 

Anakin narrowed his eyes. He would trust Obi-Wan’s opinion of his own injuries when banthas flew and Palpatine realised that what he was doing was wrong and threw himself down a garbage chute.

Ahsoka snorted. “Obi-Wan got kicked pretty hard.”

“What happened?” Anakin asked again, trying to still the shaking of his hands.

“Hey, Shhh,” Obi-Wan hushed, wrapping his hand around the back of Anakin’s neck and kissing the side of his mouth reassuringly. “Not here. Let’s go home.”

Anakin made a dissatisfied face but allowed it. There wasn’t much he could do here to help anyway.

Ahsoka was immediately swamped by the twins when they returned to the car. She climbed into the back seat with the two of them; Leia scrambled to be half seated on her lap and Luke petted her lekku while talking very quickly about something Anakin couldn’t catch. Ahsoka basked in the attention, quickly settling them both into a more comfortable position and replying to their many questions and comments. Anakin smiled at the sight.

However, he did not miss the way Obi-Wan grimaced as he slid into the front seat beside Padmé. He needed to get a look at Obi-Wan the moment they got back to the farm. Anakin had at _least_ ten credits riding on the fact it was not ‘just a few bruises’.

Everyone there and seated comfortably, they went home.

The twins followed Ahsoka inside and dragged her to sit on the couch before climbing up to sit beside her and talk. Ahsoka grinned at the two of them and kept them entertained while Anakin followed Padmé though the kitchen and into the storage space before the bathroom.

“Hey, can you cover Ahsoka in some bacta patches while I go see how fucked Obi-Wan is?” Anakin asked softly into Padmé’s ear, his hand coming to rest on her hip as she rustled through a cupboard.

“Aha!” she cried, pulling out a first-aid kit from behind a towel. Padmé turned her head and kissed his shoulder. “Of course, Ani. Do you want the kit then?”

Anakin shook his head. “No. I want to check whether we need Brato for Obi first.”

“Really?”

Anakin hummed. “Mmmhmm. He’s moving like he’s _at least_ bruised his ribs.”

Padmé sighed, rummaged though the bag and pulled out a container. “Painkillers,” she informed him and shoved them into his hand. “He’ll probably want them anyway.”

“Thanks.”

Anakin found Obi-Wan sitting at the table talking to Luke before Anakin caught his eye. Anakin nodded his head in the direction of the door to the stairs and offered him a hand up saying, “Let’s go see what you’ve done to yourself.”

Obi-Wan didn’t initially take the offer, choosing to leverage himself with the table before he took Anakin’s hand to steady himself. As they headed downstairs Anakin made an unhappy sound whilehe watched Obi-Wan struggle to breathe and move down the stairs.

“I’m fine,” Obi-Wan replied, immediately sensing Anakin’s thoughts.

“I’m going to punch you if you say that again, then you’ll not be fine.”

Obi-Wan made a pained sound and muttered, “Please don’t make me laugh.”

Anakin wanted to bash his own head against a wall out of sheer frustration. If Obi-Wan couldn’t laugh then he was _definitely hurt_ despite being apparently _fine_. 

“Bed. Now.”

Obi-Wan just threw him a flattered expression.

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Anakin retorted. “You are getting some medical treatment whether you like it or not.” 

A few minutes later and Anakin had Obi-Wan sitting on the edge of his bed, carefully removing his shirt. He was trying to be as gentle as possible; unfortunately, this shirt didn’t have buttons and he was having to pull it over Obi-Wan’s head which was not happening easily. He could see the pained expression Obi-Wan was wearing as he slowly lifted his arms and allowed Anakin to remove the clothing. When they were finally done, Anakin let out a slow hiss at the sight that greeted them.

“Sith hells, Obi-Wan,” Anakin exhaled, his eyes cataloguing the motley of bruises covering swathes of Obi-Wan’s chest. Deep purple and blue covered his skin, centring in on the lower left side of his torso. “Someone really did a number on you.” Anakin could feel anxious worry winding up in his chest. 

“It’s not so bad.”

“Shut up. Seriously. I can see it, stop trying to downplay it. Does it hurt to breathe?” Anakin asked, frowning in concern and resisting the urge to poke at it.

“I—”

“And if you lie to me, I’m going to bring Padmé down here with me to give you a real talking to. I know you’re trying to make me not worry, but you’re making it worse, so _please just be honest!_ ”

Obi-Wan let out a tiny sigh, closed his eyes and said, “Yes, it hurts to breathe.”

“Thank you. And also; fuck,” Anakin said and sighed. “Given you’re not dead, you probably haven't punctured a lung or anything extra stupid like that, but I’m gonna call Brato anyway—”

“ _Ana_ kin—”

“Don’t you ‘ _Anakin_ ’ me. You got yourself into this mess, so you’re going to suffer the consequences.”

“Yes dearest.”

“Good.” Anakin tried to sound vindicated, but it came out far softer, his heart melting at the endearment. Unable to resist, Anakin carefully leant in and brushed his lips over Obi-Wan’s. “Until then, have two of these and just _rest_.” Anakin handed him the container of pills Padmé had given him. “You need to look after yourself.”

“I know.”

“You do realise that you’re not allowed to get yourself killed on these missions, yes?” Anakin began.

“Yes—”

Anakin barrelled on, “Because the only thing thats allowed to kill you is _me_ when you come home this fucking hurt and try to pretend it’s nothing like a _moron_ and so I’ll be forced to smother you in your sleep.”

Obi-Wan smiled, “Yes, love.”

“Stop trying to distract me into kissing you. I’m mad at you.”

“I would never.”

Anakin muttered something unflattering under his breath, kissed Obi-Wan’s forehead and said, “I’m going to call Brato. When I get back you’d better have had those tablets and be resting.” He then rummaged around in Obi-Wan’s drawers and handed him a clean shirt—a button up because he was caring like that—before he stared at the pill-container pointedly.

Obi-Wan sent him an indulgent smile, took the shirt, and set about opening the capsule lid. Satisfied that he’d made his point, Anakin headed back upstairs to find where he’d left his comm. He was pretty sure he’d it left on on the dining table. When he eventually found it on top of the cooler, he called Brato. He explained Obi-Wan’s injuries to him over the comm, while Brato asked a few questions. 

“I can’t come out today, unfortunately,” Brato said finally. “It sounds like he’s cracked or broken a rib or two. If you just have him rest and take some painkillers until I can come give him a thorough check tomorrow, he should be fine. Do call me again if it becomes an emergency though.”

Anakin agreed, and hung up. Brato always seemed to have more work than he could handle at the moment. As he put the comm-unit down, he discovered Leia attached to his leg, her smile glowing up at him through Padmé’s eyes.

“What is it, princess?”

“I wantta see Daddy,” she asserted, gripping Anakin’s trousers tighter in her small fists.

“Okay,” Anakin said, leaning down to pick her up and set her on his hip. “Let’s go check if Daddy has done what I told him.”

When they returned downstairs, he placed Leia on the bed with Obi-Wan who smiled widely at her. “Hello, little one.”

Anakin was pleased to see he’d apparently taken some painkillers and pulled on the shirt, buttoning abut half of them. He’d also made an effort to situate himself so he was laying properly on the bed, his torso propped up by a few pillows.

“Hallo. I misssed you,” Leia said and stared deeply into Obi-Wan’s eyes. “You helping Soka.”

Anakin sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at her, stroking his hand through her hair, now just reaching her shoulders. “Daddy did go help Soka, didn’t he?” When Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan, he had a very thoughtful expression on his face. His brow was furrowed and his hand had found it’s way to his chin, watching Leia with a combination of awe and intrigue. “What’s wrong?”

“She said that before we got the call from Bail,” Obi-Wan said slowly. “Before you got home. She and Luke were staring at the sky and when I asked her what they were doing she said ‘You’re helping Soka’.” Obi-Wan stared at her for a long moment longer before he turned to Anakin. “I think she knew something was wrong.”

Anakin looked between Leia and Obi-Wan, Leia just staring back at him with an unsettling intensity. It was like staring himself down but with Padmé’s face. “Ahsoka was _planets_ away. How can she know that.”

Obi-Wan was thoughtful. “Either the bond the twins have with Ahsoka is very strong, or the pair of them are much more powerful than they appear.”

“Or both,” Anakin added.

Obi-Wan nodded. “Or both.”

“I, um, love you, Daddy,” Leia said thoughtfully and lay down beside him on the bed. “You sick?”

“I’m hurt,” Obi-Wan said. “Like when you fall down and bruise you’re knee.”

“Oh.” Leia lay quietly beside him, thinking, before she added. “I can kiss better.” She then scrambled back upright and sat before Obi-Wan expectantly, waiting for him to show here where to kiss.

Obi-Wan sighed and began unbuttoning his shirt when Leia refused to back down from her statement, revealing his heavily bruised skin. 

“Owie,” Leia commented, staring at him fixedly. “You falled down bad.”

“You could say that, yes,” Obi-Wan replied.

Leia very carefully leant forward and left what appeared to be a featherlight kiss on Obi-Wan’s chest where the bruising was darkest, before she sat back on her heels and looked up at him.

“Better?” Leia asked brightly.

“Much better, thank you.”

Anakin smiled. “You’ve very helpful, Leia.”

Leia nodded, hefted herself over Anakin’s legs and off the bed, before she dashed out the door. Evidently she had places to be.

Anakin watched her go, listening to her passage up the stairs, and then returned his focus to Obi-Wan, who had half-heartedly re-buttoned his shirt.

“Let me,” Anakin said and leant closer, his fingers making quick work of the rest of Obi-Wan’s buttons. When he was finished, he turned his attention to the collar about Obi-Wan’s throat, carefully arranging it so it was loose about his chest, muttering, “Much better.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Am I handsome enough now?”

“You’re always very handsome,” Anakin assured him, and lifted his left hand to cup Obi-Wan’s chin before he leant in and pressed their lips together. Obi-Wan sighed contentedly and kissed back, his hand coming to rest on Anakin’s arm, fingers circling lightly over his skin. Anakin kept it soft and was careful not to jostle Obi-Wan, before pulling back after a long moment.

“You should rest,” Anakin said, lightly stroking his hand down Obi-Wan’s neck.

Obi-Wan’s mouth opened in a slow yawn and said, “I think I could have a nap.”

Anakin agreed and helped Obi-Wan lay down properly. He then promised to send Padmé down with some dinner later when he was feeling up to it. 

Anakin returned upstairs and wasted some time making dinner with Padmé and trying to corral the twins somewhat so they didn’t smother Ahsoka. Once dinner was ready, Padmé went downstairs and ate with Obi-Wan while Anakin stayed upstairs to watch the twins and keep Ahsoka company.

“So. What happened?” Anakin asked through a mouthful of dinner. “I take it your recruitment didn’t go well.”

“You sure you want little ears listening?” Ahsoka asked.

Anakin shrugged, and helped Luke wipe some stray food from his cheek. “Just make it kid-safe; they love a good story.”

Ahsoka sighed, finished her meal, and then wove the three of them an exciting tale of ‘How Soka Walked into a Trap and then Kicked Some Butts’. Both Luke and Leia thought that was a promising title and eagerly listened while they slowly nibbled at their food.

Anakin listened attentively, enjoying the drama and excitement Ahsoka added into her story. What it seemed to boil down to was that Ahsoka had organised a meeting with another potential rebel cell on Jabiim and instead of rebels, she encountered Inquisitors. 

Anakin was confused by the term and Ahsoka explained them as darksiders who are hunting down the Jedi for Sidious. Anakin’s stomach turned over and his jaw clenched at the thought.

The meet quickly went from ‘suspicious’ to ‘clearly a trap’, and Ahsoka managed to escape the ambush from the two Inquisitors, one thin, slimy man and a heavily built tank of a woman, but her comm-device was destroyed in the process. Ahsoka had tried to get back to the ship she was using, but found it swarming with troopers. From there it was a game of Ahsoka trying to keep out of the Inquisitors clutches while trying to get a lift off the planet any way she could. 

Thankfully, five days into the merry game, Obi-Wan had turned up. Ahsoka had been mid-battle with the female Inquisitor, praying to the Force that the other was too far off to contribute to the fight and wishing it would stop fucking raining. Ahsoka had been elated when she felt Obi-Wan’s presence latch onto hers, and watched him come tearing into the fray, lightsaber lit and looking very pissed off. That gave them an excellent upper hand against the single Inquisitor, which of course went badly, because Ahsoka forgot to mention there was a second one, and Obi-Wan was caught off guard when the second Inquisitor appeared. 

They managed to hold their own for a short time longer before she’d felt a hard press of Obi-Wan’s mind into hers yell, “Follow me! Run!” She’d sprinted after Obi-Wan through the streets of Jabiim’s capital, winding through them in such a way they managed to drop their pursuers enough for them to make a dash to the space port. The pair of them fled Jabiim and planet hopped for the next week and a half to make sure they hadn’t been followed by either the Inquisitors or any stormtroopers.

All four of them had moved to the couches halfway through Ahsoka’s retelling, and Luke and Leia were asleep by the end of the story, but seemed happy in Ahsoka’s arms regardless.

“So how’d Obi-Wan get so hurt?” Anakin asked at the end of the story, after grilling her on more information regarding the Inquisitors.

“When the second Inquisitor surprised us, he kicked Obi-Wan really hard before either of us really knew he was there.” Ahsoka winced a tiny bit. “Obi-Wan turned around at a bad time.”

Anakin frowned. “But you fought them off and ran?”

“Yeah. Obi-Wan passed out once the ship was in hyperspace. Nearly scared me to death.” She nodded her head in his direction. “I now definitely understand why you always used to hound him about injuries though—I didn't realise how bad it was until I thought he'd suddenly died on me.”

Didn’t Anakin know that feeling. He hummed in agreement.

Ahsoka stared down at the children in her lap. “Shall we put these lil guys to bed? I’m kriffing wiped.”

Anakin nodded and they took the twins downstairs, briefly woke them for a bleary eyed attempt to get them into some pyjamas, and then carefully tucked them beneath their blankets. That done, Anakin escorted Ahsoka to her room.

“You’re okay though?” Anakin asked, leaning against the door and watching Ahsoka flop onto her bed, letting out a happy sigh into the pillow. She didn’t move for a few moments, and then rolled onto her side and rested her head on her hand.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She scrunched her nose, and the bruising around her cheek scrunched with it. “Face definitely still hurts though, but better with the bacta Padmé gave me.”

“Are you going to go back to the mission?”

Ahsoka shook her head. “There was only one other location left on the list Bail gave me. We contacted him on the way home and he said he’d get someone else to check it out, and for me to have a break.” She grinned brightly at him. “Besides, we’ve got a pod-race to prepare for.”

Anakin smiled back. “That we do; only two months to go. Shall I leave you to sleep?”

“Yeah.” Ahsoka rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “I’m fucking exhausted.”

“Goodnight, Snips.”

“Night, Skyguy.”

Anakin closed the door, and went in search of Padmé. When he peeked into Obi-Wan’s room, he was absolutely and completely asleep, eyes closed and breathing through gently parted lips. There was a small frown creasing his forehead, likely from the pain of his chest, but it didn’t seem to be disturbing his rest so Anakin left him to sleep for now.

He found Padmé in their room, tucked beneath a blanket with a holo-pad in her hands, eyes absolutely focused on what was probably more rebel work. Or a romance novel. She’d discovered that one of Jeina’s friends had an exorbitantly large collection of them, and Padmé had gleefully run off with a couple.

“Kids are in bed,” Anakin said, careful to not slam the door behind him. “Ahsoka and Obi-Wan too from the looks of it.”

“He fell asleep while I was talking,” Padmé said, turning to cheekily smile at Anakin. “It was very rude.”

“Ahsoka was nearly at that point,” Anakin said and then briefly relayed what Ahsoka had told them about the encounter with the Inquisitors.

“I don’t like that there are Inquisitors out there hunting down Jedi,” Padmé said finally. “Though I must admit it is also unsurprising.”

Anakin hummed in agreement, pulled off his clothes, pulled on a sleep shirt, and slid into bed beside Padmé, eagerly cuddling up to her and shoving his face into her hair. Padmé reciprocated in kind, wrapping herself around him so they lay together as if they were two halves of a circle. Anakin quickly fell asleep, feeling warm, loved, and certain that everyone was (relatively) okay. 

The next day Brato came and went, declaring one rib fractured and three solidly bruised, and prescribed Obi-Wan a whole lot of drugs, rest and only careful movements for at least two weeks. Obi-Wan seemed unsurprised, the asshole. 

Once Brato had left, Anakin had angrily told Obi-Wan that he was not getting sex for at least a month for being such a pain. Obi-Wan had just laughed weakly and pointed out that was probably going to be the case anyway because of his injury. 

Anakin had called him an idiot and kissed him anyway.

* * *

Over the course of the next month, Obi-Wan slowly healed and they all prepared for the twins to turn two. Anakin and Snips focused mainly on making sure their pod-racer was ready for the Boonta Eve Classic. So far, the whole thing worked and Ahsoka was a very competent pilot, but they were fixated on making it a truly magnificent beast.

They followed Ahsoka’s suggestion and painted it in 501st blue, drawing various patterns, shapes and symbols that Anakin remembered seeing on his Troopers helmets over the years. It also ended up with two tiny sets of hand prints along one side where Luke and Leia had attempted to help. It was a very cute addition. The twins had enjoyed watching Anakin and Ahsoka work on it, though while Leia was very happy to watch and make suggestions, Luke was doing is upmost to get in and help. 

Ahsoka was adoring the whole thing, whooping happily when their first test of the pod (that didn’t end in fire, smoke or complete failure) saw her zooming into the desert. The test was short-lived, but it boosted their morale and set them on the right track. Anakin wanted this pod to be truly a work of art, and so far it wasn’t disappointing.

Obi-Wan slowly recovered from his injury, bolstered by rest, bacta, medication and a smattering of meditation under the close eye of Anakin. Padmé often kept him company, particularly in the first week or so while Anakin hounded him about being careful and not overexerting himself and had essentially confined him to his bed or a couch. However, by the time the twins turned two, he was over the worst of it, able to move and breathe without issue, and generally recovering well. 

When the twin's second life day finally rolled around, the two of them were very excited, both now able to understand that the day was about them. Ahsoka and the twins made a cake with some help from Threepio which ended up being a terrifying creature that only slightly resembled what it was meant to be. Thankfully, it tasted okay. The twins enjoyed their gifts; a set of paper and pencils for drawing from Obi-Wan, a book for Leia and a mechanical kit for Luke from Anakin and Padmé, and a set of training sticks from Ahsoka. She’d carved the two from a pair of broken table legs she’d found discarded in town, turning them from trash into rather pretty, lightweight training ‘sabres for the twins. Anakin had been hesitant, but understood that this was important to develop their balance and help them on katas (Ahsoka had started them on the most basic ones recently) and it in no way meant they’d ever truly fight anyone with a blade. He didn’t want that for them. He wanted them to be able to make the choice for themselves. 

The day was fun regardless, and both children had a wonderful day filled with of love and attention.

It was two weeks after the twin's life day that Tatooine caught up with them.

* * *

Anakin sat on the sand beside his racer, fiddling with the way the fuel line fed into the left engine. Ahsoka was off on a job in town and Padmé was entertaining the twins while Obi-Wan wandered around the yard, checking and fixing the vaporators. Luke was torn between helping Anakin and helping Obi-Wan, quickly running between both parents, attempting to help one for a while before he decided he needed to help the other. Leia and Padmé were watching this with interest while drawing shapes in the sand.

Anakin’s head perked up at the sound of a speeder racing across the sands toward the house.

“Ahsoka’s back,” Anakin called, returning his focus to the tube in his hands.

He felt a pulse of alarm from Obi-Wan along their bond as Anakin heard him say, “That’s not Ahsoka.” 

Anakin was immediately standing and staring attentively at the vehicle hurtling toward the house. He considered sending the twins inside, but they likely wouldn't be fast enough and it was a show of weakness to whoever was approaching. Padmé called Luke over to her and remained seated with the pair, drawing their attention to the pictures in the sand. Anakin could tell she was taking in everything around her, even if she didn’t look like it. 

Obi-Wan moved to stand beside Anakin, the pair of them watching the speeder make the final approach.

“Smiles on,” Obi-Wan muttered and they went to greet who Anakin could now see were Jabba’s henchmen. Brilliant.

Barada was familiar to Anakin, but he was flanked by three unfamiliar Weequays. Obi-Wan, in his classic, charming way, welcomed the three of them with polite conversation and an exceptional imitation of a person who was trying not to appear nervous. If Anakin didn’t know that Obi-Wan could disarm all four of them in seconds, he’d be inclined to believe the act. Anakin briefly joined the conversation, asking about how much they owed, wanting them off his land as fast as possible, when Luke suddenly decided to contribute.

“Hallo,” Luke said brightly, running up and latching onto Barada’s leg, smearing dirt and sand onto his pants. “What you—”

“Move it, little brat,” Barada spat and swatted Luke away from him, the youngster stumbling away.

Anakin made an aborted movement toward the pair, but Obi-Wan beat him to it. 

In a flash of movement, Obi-Wan had carefully propelled Luke towards his mother, seized Barada by his wrist, and yanked violently until he had him in a firm, immovable hold. Barada’s dark eyes went wide and he briefly struggled against Obi-Wan’s grip, but he found himself resolutely stuck.

Three sets of blasters were suddenly pointed directly at Obi-Wan.

“You can do whatever the fuck you like to us and our home and we will pay your bribes, but if you _EVER_ touch my children again, you will leave here without that limb,” Obi-Wan bit out, eyes dark and radiating _anger_. “Understood?”

Barada stared around at Obi-Wan as if he were seeing him for the first time.

“Is. That. _Understood?”_ Obi-Wan asked again, grip tightening on Barada’s arm. He didn’t even flinch when the telltale buzz of a blaster being cocked sounded.

Anakin’s mouth went dry.

“Yes,” Barada ground out.

“Good.” Obi-Wan shoved Barada back and the Klatoonian stumbed on the sand. Obi-Wan returned to using his pleasant, friendly voice. “I will return with your money. Please give me a moment.”

Anakin didn’t think he’d ever seen group of hardened criminals look so uncomfortable; Obi-Wan had gone from zero, to ten, and back to zero in a matter of moments and it was _incredible._ Anakin _knew,_ deep down, how Obi-Wan burned, hot and bright, but so often kept it trapped beneath his skin. Getting to see it bubble to the surface was a rare treat. While the henchmen looked utterly perplexed, Anakin was trying to appear as though he was not insanely turned on.

Anakin defused the situation by distracting the men with talk of the upcoming pod-race and redirecting their attention to his pod. Once he had their focus, he performed a little Force mind trick to make them feel less concerned about that little incident. In their minds, Obi-Wan had just stood his ground, and not physically attacked and threatened them. Yes, Anakin would straight-up have done the same, but the repercussions for attacking Jabba’s men would be far worse and completely not worth it in the long run.

By the time Obi-Wan returned, casual and smiling with a bag of credits (Anakin having sent his intentions through the bond), Anakin had Jabba’s men feeling calm and more focused on pod-racing and gambling than anything else. 

Obi-Wan handed Barada the money.

He hefted the sack thoughtfully, muttered, “Seems good,” and wished Anakin goodbye, adding that he hoped to see him at the race in two weeks. 

Anakin put on his best fake smile and said the same.

All five of them watched the mob climb back into the speeder and vanish back into the desert. 

Anakin let out a long breath before hurrying over to Padmé and the children, Obi-Wan following behind.

“Are you okay?” Anakin asked, bending down to Luke and Leia who were wrapped around Padmé’s legs.

Luke, unperturbed by the whole thing, confidently answered, “Yeah!”

Leia mumbled, “M’good.”

Anakin briefly felt the Force around them to check that was the case, and once his brain was satisfied that his children were happy and safe, his mind did a hundred-and-eighty degree turn and fixated on the way Obi-Wan had protected them.

Obi-Wan sighed and stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Anakin stepped up to Obi-Wan, wrapped his hands around the side of Obi-Wan’s face, and proceeded to kiss the living daylights out of him. Obi-Wan let out a squeak of surprise, his hands jolting to Anakin waist as if to shove him away, but then just…didn’t. 

Padmé laughed, patted Anakin’s shoulder encouragingly and whispered, “I’ll keep them occupied for an hour. You two have fun.”

He felt Obi-Wan laugh and pull away, watching Padmé walk off with the twins.

“This seems rather like a trap,” Obi-Wan commented, his forefinger tapping beneath Anakin’s chin.

Anakin smiled. “I…may have whinged about Bail’s call interrupting us a few times while you were gone. I think Padmé has taken pity on us.”

Obi-Wan gave him a thoughtful look, with something playful lurking about his eyes. “So you’re saying we _have to_ go have sex now?”

“Well no,” Anakin said, feigning indifference. He one-hundred-percent, yes-fucking-please, right-now-thank-you would be down for that, but if Obi-Wan was going to mess with him, then he could at least attempt to get the upper hand. “I _suppose_ we could not do that. I mean, I could perhaps go fix the vaporators with my erection right now, because you protecting Luke was possibly the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Obi-Wan’s face did an odd sequence of expressions between amusement then horror then something else before he asked, “Really?”

Anakin leant in to nose against Obi-Wan’s cheek. “Fuck, yes.”

Obi-Wan tilted his head to the side, considering. He then moved, stepping forward into Anakin’s space and wrapping his arms around Anakin’s neck, just about hanging off of him. His eyes were watching Anakin closely with a hint of a smile showing through. “Shall we take this inside then?”

Anakin’s grin felt as though it nearly broke his face, and then went back to kissing Obi-Wan into the next dimension. That done, he snagged Obi-Wan’s hand in his and dragged him back into the house, basking in the joyous laughter of Obi-Wan following along behind him.

Anakin was taken by surprise when, after closing the door to his bedroom, he found himself shoved up against it with Obi-Wan firmly latched onto his neck. Anakin let out a surprised, “Oh,” that very quickly melted into something far less coherent. Anakin wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan, pulling him closer and rucking up his shirt to just feel skin against his fingers. He felt Obi-Wan’s hand slide up the back of his head, slow and tantalising, before curling and catching a portion of Anakin’s hair in his grip. He felt his head tugged back to expose his neck further, and Obi-Wan slowly mouthed and kissed his way back up to Anakin’s lips. Anakin felt rather like a puddle; loose and liquid and just mentally incoherent. He was brought back into reality with a firm squeeze of his cock. How he’d even gotten into Anakin’s pants was a mystery to him.

“Still with me?” Obi-Wan muttered against his mouth, his voice gone completely hoarse.

“Force, yes,” Anakin sighed and bucked into his hand.

Obi-Wan quickly kissed his mouth and suddenly disappeared. Another kiss to his hip told him _exactly_ where he’d gotten to. Anakin inhaled sharply as Obi-Wan took him into his mouth. He glanced down to see Obi-Wan’s blue-green eyes staring back up at him and Anakin let his head fall back against the door, desperately trying to breathe and not grab a hold of Obi-Wan’s hair. Anakin closed his eyes and basked in the feeling of Obi-Wan’s hot mouth on him. He was, as always, fucking incredible at this and Anakin struggled to hold himself together. Obi-Wan’s hands were firm on his hips, holding him in place and entirely dictating the pace of this interaction, and currently it was maddeningly slow. However, because Anakin was so keyed up to begin with, he was embarrassingly close to coming anyway, his traitorous mouth letting out sounds of pleasure at Obi-Wan’s skilled attentions.

When he finally looked back down, he had to smile (and yes, fine, he moaned Obi-Wan’s name) at the focused little frown on Obi-Wan’s face. Anakin was caught by the way Obi-Wan's eyelashes fell on his cheeks, dusted faintly pink, matching the wet pink of his lips. Anakin drank in the visual for as long as he could; his stunningly beautiful partner, a man he had loved for fucking ever, lovingly and meticulously sucking him off.

“Obi-Wan, wait, fuck,” Anakin panted, now at his wits end, his hand torn between pushing Obi-Wan’s head away or pulling it closer. Obi-Wan decided for him, just staring up at Anakin and resolutely not backing off.

That was it for Anakin. He shuddered, made a selection of embarrassing noises, and gripped Obi-Wan’s hair tightly as he swallowed down everything. Fuck that was hot.

Anakin sagged against the door, feeling a little wrung out but still eager. He gripped Obi-Wan by the front of his shirt and hastily tugged him up for a long, desperate kiss, ready to move this party to the bed. Obi-Wan on the other hand seemed to have something else in mind, keeping Anakin firmly in place against the door, happily kissing him even though Anakin could feel how fucking hard he was. 

Time to resort to something new.

Anakin used a quick set of combat moves to slip from Obi-Wan's grasp, stepping out of his range and then sliding up behind him.

“Sneaky,” Obi-Wan commented, “but two can play at this.”

Anakin suddenly had to focus as Obi-Wan struck out. Anakin stepped out of the range of his swing before he stepped back in, using Obi-Wan’s momentum against him, and shoving him into the door, chest first with Anakin pressing up behind him, trapping Obi-Wan against the wood. Anakin could feel every line of his body like this.

Obi-Wan let out a short huff of air and said, “Could we be a little more careful Anakin?”

Oh, shit. His chest.

Anakin immediately stepped back, concerned, his hands reaching out to check if Obi-Wan was okay. He realised it was a ploy when Obi-Wan quickly span around, grabbed a hold of Anakin’s hands, and manoeuvred him backwards. Between the surprise and the fact his brain had gone a little hazy from his earlier orgasm, when Anakin’s legs hit the bed, his knees gave out.  Anakin found himself flat on his back, with his arms and body pinned beneath Obi-Wan with his warm smile looking down at him. And, okay, he didn’t realise that was apparently A Thing he liked, but fuck if he wasn't loving it. Obi-Wan could pin him to a bed any day…and now that he thought about it, before Bail interrupted last time, Anakin had really been enjoying being shoved against that wall…

“Are you losing your touch?” Obi-Wan asked, feigning composure through heavy breaths and dark eyes, leering over Anakin. 

“No,” Anakin shot back and made an attempt to throw Obi-Wan off him. A short tussle later and Anakin was still firmly held beneath Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan looked at him with interest. “I’m begining to suspect you’re enjoying this.”

Anakin tilted his head back confrontationally. “What gives you that idea?”

Obi-Wan smiled at him and tightened his grip before he ground his hips over where Anakin’s cock was again already hard again. Anakin bucked up at the contact and let out an audible inhale, his eyes falling shut for just a moment, not even trying to resist Obi-Wan’s hold. He could feel how much Obi-Wan was enjoying this too.

Obi-Wan’s smile was terribly smug when he looked up. “See?”

Anakin slowly rocked his hips up into Obi-Wan’s erection while he curled closer to him him and attacked his mouth, sucking on Obi-Wan’s lower lip. “Obi-Wan, _please_ stop teasing already _,”_ Anakin moaned against his mouth, faintly embarrassed at himself but also too far desperate to care. “I need you.”

“Okay. Okay,” Obi-Wan said breathlessly, his hands moving to tightly grip Anakin’s waist and stall his movement. Anakin just grinned brightly at him through half-lidded eyes, not even bothering to move his arms. He _loved_ making Obi-Wan lose his composure like this. It was absolutely thrilling. “Have you done this before?” Obi-Wan asked, staring up at Anakin with warm eyes while his hands stroked Anakin’s sides in the most wonderful way.

“Kind of? Padmé and I experimented a bit, but otherwise no, not really,” Anakin admitted.

“You sure you want this then? We can always try the other way first?”

Oooh…choices… 

“I really, _really_ want this,” Anakin replied seriously, because he _really_ fucking did. This had been a reoccurring fantasy for him since he was seventeen and there was no way, in all the Sith hells, he was about to pass this up… “Though, I would love to try the other way around in the future.” 

Obi-Wan smiled. “I’d like that too. However, if at any point you’re not enjoying it, tell me to stop and I will. Okay?”

“Okay,” Anakin said. He leant back up, resting on his elbows, and kissed Obi-Wan before he added, “I trust you.”

He felt Obi-Wan’s fingers latch into his hair, bringing him back to his lips. Anakin could honestly do this for _hours._ All he wanted was to be utterly and completely wrapped up in Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan was a very focused kisser, and in Anakin’s opinion, rather talented at it. Slowly, Anakin found himself deftly divested of his shirt and pants. Anakin helped tug Obi-Wan’s shirt over his head, before his hands made an attempt at unfastening his pants but Obi-Wan swatted them away. 

“Hold on, sweetheart,” he purred. “I’ve got this under control. Just relax.”

Oh… That was a tone of voice he hadn’t heard before, but he liked it. 

Anakin did as instructed, laying back and taking a few deep breaths; enough that everything stopped feeling quite so sharp and overwhelming. His hands fidgeted with the sheets, but he felt calm. Sure, still ridiculously turned on, but calm. Obi-Wan made him feel safe. Anakin felt as though he could let himself go and Obi-Wan would be there to catch him, no matter what. He could trust Obi-Wan like this; give himself to Obi-Wan like this. It was grounding and simultaneously completely freeing. 

Obi-Wan’s weight vanished from the bed for a few moments, but Anakin remained laying where he was. Waiting and trusting.

A weight returned to the bed and a hand touched his body, gliding up his stomach to his chest, before he felt Obi-Wan leave a gentle kiss on the skin just above his belly-button. Anakin let out a breathy exhale while his hands jumped to touch Obi-Wan’s head, threading his fingers though his hair.

“Okay?” Obi-Wan asked and pressed a questioning finger to his entrance. Evidently his little excursion off the bed was in search of the lube they had stashed under the bed. Also, it appeared that he’d managed to lose the rest of his clothes.

“Oh, yeah.”

Over some period of time Obi-Wan carefully worked Anakin open. He distracted Anakin with kisses to his stomach, hips and upper legs, simultaneously relaxing him while also managing to make Anakin fucking turned on as hell. By the time Obi-Wan deemed Anakin ready, Anakin’s hand had absently came up to cover his face, feeling overwhelmed and so fucking loved. He was practically shaking from it, keening desperately, and back to the eager way he’d felt earlier when they’d both started this.

Anakin felt a light touch of fingers at his hand and a soft, “I want to see you, sweet thing,” murmured from above him. His heart did a funny little dance at the pet-name. He would never get sick of that. Whenever Obi-Wan had called him ‘dear one’ over the years, it had _always_ made his heart turn over in his chest and have to count to five to resist throwing himself at Obi-Wan. 

Obi-Wan gently lifted Anakin’s hand from his face, barely even exerting any force and seemingly giving Anakin the choice, before he lifted the hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

“Ready?”

“Force, yes.”

Anakin’s breath caught as Obi-Wan pressed into him. His eyes fluttered and his hands gripped Obi-Wan’s where they gingerly sat on Anakin’s waist. It was _wonderful_. He felt heavy and light all at the same time. He just wanted Obi-Wan completely _in_ him, but intellectually knew this needed to be slow for now.

“Alright?”

Anakin sighed. “Perfect, I’m fine, _please—”_ he inhaled as Obi-Wan acquiesced.

Obi-Wan began slowly, hips canting just so with his eyes fixed on Anakin, and there was something absolutely feral in them contrasting with his careful, deliberate movements. Anakin made sure he kept breathing, relaxing into the new intrusion and absolutely _loving it_. Obi-Wan watched him like a hook hawk, darkened eyes cataloguing every inch of Anakin’s face, making sure he was okay. It keyed up to a whole new level when Obi-Wan hit the perfect place inside him.

Anakin let himself go. 

He lay against the bed, head tossed back and closed his eyes, just allowing himself to feel all of it. The heat burning though him, the sharp desire to attach himself to Obi-Wan and never let go, the firm press of Obi-Wan over and inside him, full and slick. Anakin moaned at each purposeful thrust, his fingers scratching sharply over every inch of skin he could reach of his partner. He could hear Obi-Wan’s subtle sounds of pleasure; a sharp breath, a murmured sigh, and endearment after endearment kissed against his skin.

Every nerve in him felt lit up from within, hot and bright and all-consuming. He was having a hard time breathing steadily but still wanted more. Anakin wrapped his hand around Obi-Wan’s head and pulled so their foreheads were pressed together. He tapped at Obi-Wan’s shields, whispering a desperate, “I want to feel you,” between them.

Obi-Wan complied and Anakin felt Obi-Wan’s shields lift from around their bond and was immediately swamped in sensation. He could so clearly feel the adoration Obi-Wan felt for him; the mirrored burning desire and the all encompassing need to be _closer_. He could also feel this raw, burning emotion surging through Obi-Wan. He felt _fear_ and _regret_. Anakin pushed deeper into that pocket of feelings, Obi-Wan letting him do so, and found himself in a puddle of recent anxieties: fear that his injuries on Jabiim would kill him and he’d never see Anakin or Padmé or the twins again; regret that if he died he hadn’t given Anakin and Padmé a proper goodbye. Anakin mentally soothed over these worries and leant up to kiss him slowly. Overriding all of that, Anakin could feel a fierce possessiveness he’d never felt in Obi-Wan before. A sharp thought that Anakin and Padmé were _his_ and honestly, it was the best thing Anakin had ever come across.

In return, Anakin shoved his love and desperation and every feeling he had ever had about them being two parts of something bigger at Obi-Wan. How Anakin had never wanted anyone else the way he wanted Obi-Wan and Padmé. How Anakin just fucking loved this stupid, beautiful man to within an inch of his life and would burn everything to the ground if anything ever happened to him. He wrapped Obi-Wan in love and need and his own fierce possessiveness, his brain latching onto the words _yours_ and _mine._

“Fucking hells, Anakin,” Obi-Wan cursed, stilling himself completely while the arms that held him above Anakin shook. Anakin just stared up into Obi-Wan’s face and let himself bask in the complex emotions that ricocheted between them both. 

“I love you,” Anakin said, still watching Obi-Wan and relishing the way his breath stuttered at the confession.

Obi-Wan let out a breathless chuckle. “Believe me, Anakin, I do not doubt that in any way; it’s just about all I can _feel_ right now.” Anakin lifted a hand to slide the back of it against Obi-Wan’s cheek. Obi-Wan turned his head to kiss the backs of Anakin's fingers. Obi-Wan didn’t say it back, but Anakin could feel it in every part of his mind, and it was just as good.

Obi-Wan started slowly again, his eyes boring into Anakin’s soul as he rocked into him. Anakin leant into him as much as he could, legs gripping him tightly and wrapping his arms about Obi-Wan’s shoulders to tug him down for kisses. Anakin let it be slow for a while, still feeling bright and overstimulated from their lack of mental barriers, wanting this to last just a little longer; wanting to feel Obi-Wan in every part of him. Anakin kissed down every little moan Obi-Wan’s lips offered him, and his fingers traced every inch of skin he could reach, but Anakin still wanted more.

“Please,” Anakin begged breathlessly between kisses, “harder. I need—ahh!” He writhed as Obi-Wan fucked him harder, blunt nails dragging along skin as Anakin saw stars. He was on the edge, teetering between too much and not enough. His stomach was tight and hot and he could _feel_ Obi-Wan, inside and out, and it was just intoxicating. Anakin struggled for breath and focus. Everything was just so hot and perfect and— and— 

He came hard, and could feel Obi-Wan doing the same; the pleasure pulsed between them, reverberating, echoing, looping, endless—

His world went white.

All he could do was breathe, and even that was a struggle. Everything was light and heat and pleasure.

Finally, Anakin fell boneless back onto the bed.

He felt very far away.

“Anakin?”

He could only hum an acknowledgement.

“Are you okay?” Anakin felt Obi-Wan’s hand come to cradle his face.

Anakin hummed again, his eyes and mind slowly refocussing. 

“I need words, darling,” Obi-Wan said softly. “I need to know I didn’t melt your brain.”

Anakin smiled. “It wouldn’t be a terrible way to go.”

“There you are.” Obi-Wan leant over him and pressed a kiss to Anakin’s forehead. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Anakin said, turning his eyes on Obi-Wan as he pulled away. “Completely fucked out of my mind though.”

Obi-Wan’s mouth twitched into a smirk. There was a clear amount of pride in that smile. “So it seems.”

“You’re okay?”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said. “I knew to mentally draw back if I wanted to keep my wits about me. I forgot that I should have warned you. I’m sorry.” Obi-Wan looked a little guilty.

“It’s fine. That was… amazing.” Anakin grinned at him, feeling absolutely buzzed. “I probably wouldn’t have listened to you anyway.”

Obi-Wan sighed, but smiled. Anakin reached up and pulled Obi-Wan down to lie beside him, curling into him and tangling their legs together. Anakin closed his eyes and pressed his lips and nose against Obi-Wan’s shoulder. 

“We should clean up,” Obi-Wan suggested.

“Nope,” Anakin argued, the words muffled against Obi-Wan’s skin. “Cuddling first.”

“ _Ana_ kin—”

“Don’t care. Just…stay. Please.”

Obi-Wan sighed and kissed his forehead again. “Alright.”

Their bond was still open between them, and Anakin let himself float in the calm in-between. He felt warm and safe and so incredibly loved. He could feel that same balance in Obi-Wan. 

Anakin shifted his head slightly, his eye catching on the different colours in Obi-Wan’s hair.

“You know,” Anakin began, smiling, “I think this streak of grey is very handsome on you.”

Obi-Wan gave him a look that sat perfectly between exasperation and fondness. “ _So_ glad you think so. You probably gave to to me anyway.”

Anakin kissed his cheek. “If it was _me_ giving them to you, you would have been completely grey by the time I was knighted.”

“True.”

A comfortable silence settled between them. Obi-Wan’s hand traced nonsense shapes over the skin on Anakin’s hip and Anakin purred contentedly into his neck.

“You should move in here with me and Padmé,” Anakin suggested. “You know. Permanently.”

Obi-Wan made a thoughtful noise. “I’ll think about it.”

Satisfied with the answer, and unwilling to push his luck for now, he dropped the idea. He absently thought he should definitely wait on asking Obi-Wan to marry them. He _really_ wanted that, but he would take small steps this time. 

Feeling perfectly happy and comfortable, Anakin closed his eyes and smiled as he heard a quiet, “I love you,” murmured into his hair.

* * *

Two exhausting, maintenance heavy weeks later found Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka carrying out final tests on their pod before the Boonta Eve Classic tomorrow. 

Ahsoka had progressed phenomenally over the last month. While she was an excellent pilot in general, pods were a little different, faster, and often navigated much tighter courses than Ahsoka was used to. Ahsoka practiced at least once a day, taking the pod out and darting around the open plains and the nearby canyons.

The first time Anakin shot at her, she called him the most colourful array of expletives he’d ever heard come from her mouth. He’d then explained, through a very proud grin, that she should expect shots at any moment in the race, either from spectators who'd had too much to drink or had too much money riding on the race, and the Tuskens who would often attend, gleefully taking out pods. Ahsoka had conceded the point, but called him a lazerbrain for good measure. 

Regardless, between Ahsoka’s excellent piloting and their very sexy pod-racer, Anakin was feeling good about their chances. He’d also made Ahsoka a facial helmet to a) protect her face from dust, rocks, and shrapnel, and b) to conceal her face. More off-worlders meant more of a chance of being noticed, and that wasn’t what any of them wanted.

Currently, they were doing final checks of the machine, Anakin standing a few steps back with Obi-Wan, his eyes carefully roving over every curve and angle of the racer. Ahsoka was fiddling with the left pod, making a few adjustments she thought would help fine-tune her steering.

“Ahsoka!” Anakin yelled, stopping Ahsoka in her tracks, her hand outstretched toward a power coupling on the pod. “Don’t touch that, you’ll stun yourself.”

“ _Yes, Dad_ ,” Ahsoka grumbled at him, pulling back from it.

Oh.

Ahsoka stared at him, wide eyed, like she’d dropped something fragile on the floor.

“Skyguy?”

“I think you broke him,” Obi-Wan suggested mildly.

Anakin had swept Ahsoka up in his arms before he even realised he had moved.

“You’re gonna be amazing tomorrow,” Anakin muttered, swallowing back tears that had inexplicably appeared in his eyes. “I’m so proud of you.”

“You’re a _weird_ dad,” Ahsoka said jokingly, though she hugged him back, her strong arms wapping around his chest.

When he could speak without crying again, he asked. “Not Obi-Wan?”

“You’re _both_ my weird dads,” Ahsoka said with a quirked smile as she pulled out of the hug. “You always fought like an old married couple anyway.”

Anakin smiled and wrapped his arm around Obi-Wan’s waist. “True.”

Obi-Wan turned his head to raise his eyebrow at Anakin.

Anakin went for a _slow_ lean in to Obi-Wan, trying to keep the evil grin he could feel off his lips. The look in Obi-Wan’s eyes said he knew exactly what Anakin was up to. 

“No! _NO_! I’m out. You can finish the checks alone!” Ahsoka whined. “You know, Skyguy, one day I’m gonna bring someone home and make out with them for an _uncomfortably long time_ while you’re in the room. See how you like it.” At that, Ahsoka stormed back inside.

“Do you really think she will?” Anakin asked, grinning and immediately leaning back from Obi-Wan.

“Probably,” Obi-Wan smirked. “After all, our daughter does mostly take after you.”

“Also true.”

She didn’t take after him in pod-racing though. 

Anakin had put a tiny, personal bet on the fact she wouldn’t finish; most didn't on their first proper race and he certainly hadn’t. Once again, Ahsoka surprised him.

Padmé refused to come, staying home with the twins, but Ahsoka somehow managed to convince Obi-Wan to come along. All three of them were dressed in such a way that it concealed their features; Ahsoka in the mask Anakin had made her, Anakin in a pair of dark goggles and a thick scarf over his nose and mouth, and Obi-Wan in a hat that had a loose-hanging piece of fabric so as to only reveal his eyes. All the locals knew them instantly, dressed similarly to keep the sand off their faces, but anyone who didn’t already know them was not going to have any kind of chance at recognising them. It was perfect.

Ahsoka was bouncing with energy before the race. She paced and mumbled to herself as she obsessively checked the machinery. When the announcers called everyone off the track she gave Anakin and Obi-Wan a quick hug and said, ‘Wish me luck!” Anakin gave the pod a final pat, and followed Obi-Wan to the sidelines. Anakin’s hand was tightly clasped in Obi-Wan’s as the starting light illuminated and they watched the race through the view screens.

Ahsoka had no problems taking off, dashing forward through the ranks of pods and tailing a small group of four racers. The first lap saw two crashes and one mechanical failure and Ahsoka pulled into second, close behind the winning Wookiee from the year before. She managed to stay in second until a wayward shot from a roaming Tusken tribe briefly disabled something on her right engine.

By the time she came around for the second lap, Ahsoka was sitting in a firm sixth. Anakin proudly watched, his hand still death-gripping Obi-Wan’s, as she bided her time, waiting for prime opportunities to overtake those around her, and as she came through the finish line for the second last time, she was back up to second place.

The final lap was fast and dangerous, three pods going up in flames due to blatant sabotage from a Neti racer, who got their comeuppance when their pod got too close to a rock pile that took out its left engine. Ahsoka deftly avoided all of these events, but took a long turn through the caves, pushing her further back into the pack. Once out of the caves, she powered through, pushing the pod to it’s speed limit and racing past other competitors along the final stretch. Ahsoka shot through the finish-line, hot on the tail of the Bith's pod, landing herself in a very respectable third place. 

Anakin whooped in excitement, spun Obi-Wan around and then ran full pelt toward where Ahsoka’s pod had come to a stop.

“You did it!” Anakin hollered, running up beside her and smacking the pod in his excitement.

Ahsoka’s mask was covered in dirt, soot, and sand, and when she lifted it up, her markings were barely visible through grime that had slipped in through fine cracks. Her smile was visible though, sharp white teeth grinning at him in clear joy.

“That was awesome!” she exclaimed, clambering awkwardly out of the pod and wrapping Anakin up in a tight hug, actually managing to lift him off the ground a short ways. 

While they weren’t the winners, a number of locals and other race teams came to check out their pod and congratulate them. It had easily been the fastest pod out there, doing such an excellent job of overtaking others on the straights. Anakin was pulled into multiple conversations about their pods and others’ specs, and had a lovely time doing so. Ahsoka was quietly handed a hefty bag of credits from the race officials before the real first-place ceremony took place. Obi-Wan left Anakin to do his own thing, and leant on the pod with Ahsoka, the two of them talking quietly.

Finally, the ceremony took place, winnings were handed to the Wookiee, and she was once again doused in alcohol. The spectacle over and most people now too drunk to function, the three of them went home. Anakin drove the pod home and Obi-Wan drove the speeder with Ahsoka fast asleep in the back seat.

Padmé congratulated Ahsoka at a distance, pointing her first to a shower, before setting a hearty meal before them all. Ahsoka shoved as much food into her mouth as possible, clearly starving after such a physically and mentally taxing experience. Anakin related the whole race to Padmé, though Luke seemed the most interested of all of them. Ahsoka added bits and pieces of information through mouthfuls of food.

Exhausted and well fed, Ahsoka took herself off to an early bed. Obi-Wan took the twins downstairs for their pre-bed routine, and Anakin and Padmé fell onto the couch together, her head on his lap and his fingers in her hair while she told him about her day. Anakin listened attentively, slowly sinking further into a reclining position, Padmé gracefully melting alongside him.

Once her story was done, he asked the question that had been floating at the back of his mind for the last week or so. 

“Why didn’t you join us after the whole Barada thing?” Anakin asked, twining their hands together.

“What, when you threw yourself at Obi-Wan?”

Anakin nodded.

“Well, one, someone had to watch the twins, but secondly and most importantly, I thought you’d want that moment to yourself. The two of you have been making your way to that point in your relationship for _years,_ dearest, and I wanted you two just to have that. Also, I didn’t want to get caught between the two most dramatic and intense people I know.”

“Yeah, okay. Fair.” Anakin huffed out a laugh and then paused thoughtfully. “I—was it okay that I was with you with Obi-Wan then that first time?” he asked. “I didn’t think—”

“That was exactly how I wanted it to go,” Padmé assured him. “I wanted you there with us, and If i hadn’t then I wouldn’t have initiated it while you were there.”

Anakin nodded, thinking it through. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

“Are you two coming to bed eventually?” Obi-Wan asked suddenly from the doorway to the stairs. 

Padmé waved a hand at him. “We’re getting there.”

“Mmm,” Obi-Wan said, watching the pair of them with soft eyes and a warm smile. “Very slowly.”

“We had a big day,” Anakin asserted, giving absolutely no indication of moving, and in fact cuddled down closer to Padmé in protest.

Obi-Wan walked across the room and rested his fingers beneath Anakin’s chin, tilting his head for a light kiss before he did the same to Padmé. “I guess I’ll just have to go to bed _alone_ then.”

Anakin felt Padmé sigh as she said, “Okay. Fine. Help me up.”

Obi-Wan gave Padmé his hand and pulled her up, wrapping his arm about her waist and making a expectant face at Anakin. 

“I’m coming,” Anakin said, and Padmé and Obi-Wan took one of his hands each, tugging him up into a group hug. The three of them went to bed.

* * *

Six months passed.

Ahsoka came and went like the wind, here one week, gone the next; always on the move and set on some kind of purpose. She occasionally came home with a blaster wound, bruise or some scratches, but nothing truly life-threatening. She and Anakin had taken to talking about each mission after she came back, Ahsoka sitting still while Anakin slapped bacta or bandages on her. When she was home she would help Anakin with jobs around Tatooine, train with the twins who were improving with their training sabres, or just have a relaxed pause in her adventures. She also often took their pod out for a spin, very determined to win the next race. All tension between the two of them seemed to have evaporated over the last year and it felt good.

Obi-Wan came and went like Ahsoka, but was far more often home than not. He’d seemed rather rattled after his last outing, Anakin still able to remember his sharp fear of dying while he was out there and never coming home. So Obi-Wan now chose missions with less danger or shorter time-frames and always made sure to kiss Anakin and Padmé goodbye, leaving them with an, “I love you, I’ll be home soon.” He and Anakin had very thoroughly explored each other’s bodies over the last six months, experimenting with each other and Padmé. Obi-Wan seemed to have finally, properly settled himself into their trio, now very comfortable and confident of his place in their lives. He was clearly very happy.

Padmé continued to tirelessly work through everything Bail sent her, and soon she was having long, detailed conversations over the net with Bail at least once a week. Anakin was ridiculously proud of her, and offered to help where he could. Mostly, he makes sure she remembers to eat while she works and keeps the twins occupied. The two of them were working together to get Obi-Wan to move into their bedroom permanently, but he was still making noncommittal sounds. But while Anakin could see that Padmé was happy and occupied, he could see how the inaction was getting to her. Sure, she had direction and a cause, but she couldn’t _do_ anything about it like Obi-Wan and Ahsoka could, and Anakin could see how that niggled at her mentally. Anakin wished he could help her, but there was no much to be done for restlessness when it was so unsafe to let her go. 

The twins were becoming clever, well spoken little terrors. Luke was now actively helping Anakin with the vaporator repairs, quickly able to identify a problem and hand his father the appropriate tool when requested. Leia followed her mother practically everywhere, wanting to just help, and when that failed she attached herself to one of the other adults, most often Anakin. The two kids also loved the other dearly, and the pair could often be found just sitting together, talking or drawing or staring at the sky. They both were still growing in Force strength, a fact that worried Anakin deeply. They were both excellent at shielding now, and only occasionally had to be reminded to do so (Padmé also becoming far better at it) so that abated some fears. He still couldn’t explain how they had known about Ahsoka being in trouble. 

Regardless, while they had their issues, Anakin was very happy.

* * *

By the time he saw the Stormtroopers, it was too late. 

Anakin had been walking the streets of Mos Eisley with Luke holding one hand and Leia being carried in the other. It was meant to have been a quick journey in and out of town, Padmé agreeing he should take the twins in for some extra socialisation and a stretch of their little legs. Padmé was back at the farm, her turn to collect whatever water had been sucked up by the vaporators. They were in town to collect Obi-Wan as he’d briefly gone off world for the rebellion and arrived off a transport that morning, but had to make a detour to a cantina, begging off to check in with a contact. Since the cantina was no place for the twins, the three of them were time wasting.

They had become distracted by, initially, a new model of swoop-bike parked out the front of a shop, Anakin and Luke nattering to each other about it. After that, Leia had spotted a man selling blasters, which had started up a whole new conversation with the three of them. From there it spiralled out of control, the trio pinging around the town, talking to residents and investigating technology. Anakin had also ended up in two seperate conversations about potential jobs people wanted him for, followed by the inevitable ‘how the children were’ chat.

Anakin had then lost his focus when a local trader suddenly turned violent on his slave. The woman had tripped and dropped a parcel she had been carrying. Her owner had turned on her suddenly, smacking her across the face before yelling at her. Anakin wanted to do something. He wanted to help, but he more than anyone knew that would just make it worse for her. Anakin forced down the volcano of anger building beneath his skin. He couldn’t do anything now and he averted his children’s eyes from the scene. He resolved to fix this in the future. He couldn’t keep ignoring this.

Anakin had let his awareness of their surroundings slip, and here they were with his family in danger.

“Halt!” called the modulated voice. 

Anakin’s heart had stopped in his chest, quickly cataloguing the situation. Kriffing Sith hells there were three of them.

Anakin immediately scooped Luke into his arms and took off in the opposite direction, sending a quick pulse of _danger_ toward Obi-Wan through their bond. Force he was so fucked right now. They couldn’t leave the town easily. If the troopers spotted the speeder, all they’d have to do was track it back home. If they left without Obi-Wan, he would also likely be in danger. The twins took priority though and both adults knew it, so if there was a window he’d take it. Stealing someones transport was looking better and better by the moment.

“Dad, where we going?” Leia asked, fear colouring her voice.

“Going to play hide and seek, darling.” He panted. Running in the desert sun with two rather heavy children was not easy. “We’re going to hide from the men in white, okay?” The twins nodded. 

Padmé was going to kill him when she heard about this. He couldn’t even work out _how_ they’d spotted him. His hair had grown out, now pulled back into a tight tail with a few braids (Leia was going through a phase) and from sheer laziness, was sporting a light smattering of stubble. It should not have been obvious who he was.

“If I tell you to hide—” he ducked left down an alley, “—you hide until Daddy or I come get you. Got it?”

“Yes, Dad,” they both chorused.

Whoever had trained these troopers had done an excellent job. They managed to stay on his tail for much longer than he had anticipated. He had hoped to have hidden the twins or nicked a speeder by this point. 

_Just keep running_. 

He moved down the next alley: blocked.

A trader was clearly using this alley for storage and had filled Anakin’s exit in with boxes. Kriffing fucking Sith fucking hells! He tried dashing back the way he came, but was stopped by the squad of troopers. He made a quick inventory around him, he could jump to the nearest roof or over the obstruction, or he could fight. Both scenarios put the twins into the line of fire.

He felt a pulse through the bond. 

Obi-Wan was coming. 

He just had to protect his children long enough for Obi-Wan to get here. He could do that. With quick use of the Force, he levitated the twins to the ground, immediately standing in front of them and pulling out the blaster he had tucked secretly under his tunic. He planted his feet firmly in the sand and stood ready to defend.

“Holy shit!” He heard from one of the troopers.

He moved his blaster up, ready to fire.

All three troopers immediately dropped their blasters, two holding their hands up in surrender, the one closest immediately fiddling with his helmet, saying, “Hold, Sir, Skywalker. Wait!” The trooper yanked the helmet off, tossed it onto the ground, and held up his hands placatingly.

“Rex?” Anakin asked, not moving in his stance even by an inch.

A grin. “Yessir.”

A pause. 

“What the fuck?”

“We were thinking the same thing, sir.” The second trooper pulled of his helmet.

“Kix?” Anakin sputtered, blaster dropping an inch. “Who’s that then, Jesse?”

“Got it in one!” The final helmet came off and Jesse’s tattooed face was smiling at him.

“Are you with the Empire?” Anakin asked, hesitant. “Here to kill me?”

“Neither, sir,” Rex assured him.

“Can I…?” With one hand, he pointed to his head, swirled his hand a bit, and then pointed at them.

All three nodded. Anakin swooped through their upper-level thoughts; their intentions and feelings. Not even a hint of treachery, just… surprise and happiness. 

“Why are you dressed as Stormtroopers?”

“It’s a good disguise… and we _were_ stormtroopers for a short time,” Jesse admits.

_I’m here_ comes the thought from Obi-Wan as he appeared, launching over the boxes that were in Anakin’s way. He charged in, carefully stepping around the children, still huddled at their father’s feet. Lightsaber raised and stance aggressive, he stood beside Anakin. 

Anakin felt a thrill of heat flush through him at Obi-Wan fighting to defend him and his children again. Last time had been so lovely. That was a thought for another time though.

There was another pause and Obi-Wan blinked. “Rex?”

Laughter broke out from all three clones. “Should have known you’d be nearby!” Rex chuckled. “Kenobi will always come for Skywalker.”

Anakin winked at Obi-Wan who just rolled his eyes back at him.

“So I take it we’re not under attack?” Obi-Wan said.

Anakin shook his head and lowered his blaster. Obi-Wan followed suit and de-activated his blade, immediately leaning down to the twins, asking, “Hello, darlings, everything okay?”

It was at this moment that the clone’s eyes finally travelled down to the children on the ground.

“Holy shit, are those mini-Skywalkers?” Jesse asked, a wide grin on his face.

“Yeah, though technically they are both currently Lars’, Padmé and I thought we’d let them pick a last name when they were older and, you know, we’re not wanted fugitives,” Anakin informed them, stepping away from the children and toward his old friends. Obi-Wan had the twins under control.

“Ha! Thats 10 credits you owe me, Kix.” Jesse whacked his brother on the arm. “I told you the senator was carrying his spawn!”

Anakin scrunched up his nose. “That is the most awful way to talk about my children.”

Jesse just shrugged.

“Is there someplace we can all talk? Safely?” Rex asked.

Anakin nodded. “If you have transport, you can come home with us. You all de-chipped?”

“Wait, you actually _live_ on this wasteland of a planet?” Kix asked.

Anakin scowled. “I was _born_ on this planet.”

“Oh.”

Rex rolled his eyes at them. “Yes, we’re de-chipped, and yes, we have have transports. We can follow you.” Rex indicated to the scars on their heads where the chips had been removed.

“I’ll need you to lose the armour before we go. You can bring it with, but I’m not leaving town with a visible Stormtrooper escort.”

They all agreed to meet out the back of the cantina and got organised. They stripped off the outer white casings of the armour, shoved them into packs and handed them to Anakin and Obi-Wan, before disappearing off to get their bikes. Anakin and Obi-Wan took the bags and the children back to their speeder.

Anakin could feel tension radiating off of Obi-Wan.

“It’ll be fine,” Anakin assured him, sliding in close once the twins were seated in the back of the speeder. “They’ve been de-chipped.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “I know. I just worry.”

“I know you do. Trust me?” Anakin leant in for a kiss, slow and calming.

Obi-Wan murmured against his lips, “You know I do.”

Anakin pulled back and jumped into the speeder. “Then don’t worry about it.”

Another long suffering sigh escaped Obi-Wan, but he nodded and climbed in beside him. 

“Kissing is gross,” Luke suggested brightly from the back seat.

“Uh-huh,” Anakin agreed, leaning over the back seat and kissing Luke on the cheek. “So gross.”

“Dad!” he yelled, but was grinning happily. It was a current ploy of Luke’s to get kisses; the little monster loved physical affection and was not shy about trying to get it.

Once both children were sitting properly in their seats and strapped in, Anakin took off down the street and headed around back of the cantina. 

“How did your meet go?” he asked, once the speeder was quiet.

“Good,” Obi-Wan said. “Between Ahsoka and I, we’ve nearly got a proper resistance going. Bail has been making sounds about gaining more support in the Senate, which would be excellent.” He glanced into the back seat. “He’s also desperate to meet those two.”

Anakin hummed thoughtfully.

He could hear the children in the back going through the stormtrooper armour at their feet, the clattering shaking the base of the speeder.

“There they are.” Anakin pointed to the three swoop bikes coming toward them.

“Dad! Daddy! Look at us!” Leia called out.

They both swivelled around to find the children wearing trooper helmets. Obi-Wan laughed at the pair of them. Anakin was less enthused. “Come on, take those off. They’re not yours, you need to ask before you take other people’s things.”

They both grumbled at him, but did as they were asked.

“We can ask them at home?” Luke queried, dropping the helmet back to the floor.

“Yes,” Anakin said.

The twins perked up after that, waving at the clones as they drew up next to the speeder. 

“Ready when you are, sir,” Rex called.

“Please stop calling me ‘sir’, Rex. Neither of us holds any kind of rank anymore. Anakin will do.” He received a grunt in response. Close enough. “Alright, follow closely. The sand people love stragglers.”

“The _what?”_ Kix called, horrified, but Anakin had launched the speeder into gear and taken off across the sands.

The trip was thankfully uneventful and they pulled up to the farm only slightly dustier than when they left town. Padmé was waiting out the front as they drove in, the rifle against her shoulder and pointed toward them. Ah, he loved that woman. He gave her the all clear signal with his hands, and the rifle dropped to her side.

“I see you brought visitors?” Padmé asked, stepping up beside the speeder when he stopped, pulling Leia from the speeder, followed by Luke. Both immediately took off for the house at a running pace.

“More like they found us.” Obi-Wan muttered.

“Couldn’t have comm-ed me?”

Anakin slid up beside her, giving her an apologetic kiss. “Forgot?”

“Senator!” the clones chorused happily, heading towards her having parked up their bikes.

“Oh! Rex! Hello!” she said. “And… um, sorry, I’m not sure I know you two?”

“Kix.”

“Jesse.”

“It’s good to see you all.” She nodded, eyes raking over both of them, her quick mind memorising names and faces. “I was about to sort out some lunch…?”

“I’ll help,” Obi-Wan offered, and the pair of them followed after the twins into the house.

Anakin indicated to the troopers where to stash their swoops, and he pushed the speeder into the garage of rocks and metal he’d thrown together to house their pod-racer.

“Wow,” Rex sighed, staring out at the desert, “this was not how I was expecting the day to go.”

“I thought this would be just another boring, backwater,” Kix agreed. “We’d kind of given up hope of finding either you or Ahsoka or Kenobi again.”

“Then you’ll all be pleased to hear Ahsoka is doing excellently,” Anakin said. “The little terror is basically running the rebellion, though she does drop in here from time to time.”

“Terrifying,” Rex said, “but good to hear. We had worried about where all of you had ended up, though…we had thought the Senator was dead.”

Anakin nodded. “It was a tumultuous time and as you can see, she’s definitely not dead. We can discuss it more after lunch. Come on, I’m starving.”

Anakin and his troops entered the lounge room, ready to give the three of them a quick run down on the building. The twins had taken over the couch, both of them scribbling on some paper, and Padmé had Obi-Wan pressed up against the counter, kissing him soundly.

“Well that’s, um, new?” Rex tried. The pair pulled apart and went back to sorting lunch, Obi-Wan highly adept at avoiding eye contact. Padmé grinned at Anakin. 

Anakin shrugged. “Not really.”

“And there’s another 10 credits you owe me Kix,” Jesse said, insufferably smug.

“Nuh-uh, you owe me,” Kix retorted, “that bet was placed during the war, not now.”

Jesse, not ready to concede the point, asked, “Fine. Skywalker, were you and Kenobi boning each other during the war?”

Poor Obi-Wan had gone bright red, and was struggling to put a sentence together. Evidently mortified that his sexual exploits had been up for discussion for years.

“Ha! I wish,” Anakin laughed, and walked into the kitchen, tapping Obi-Wan on his arse as he went.

“ _Anakin,_ ” Obi-Wan scolded, still a lovely pink.

“See. You, in fact, owe me ten,” Kix said. “Therefore, between this bet and the other one, we’re square.”

“Fuck you,” Jesse groused.

“Language,” Padmé said, nodding toward the twins on the couch, now watching the adults intently. “Little ears, gentlemen.”

“Sorry.”

Lunch was a quick affair, everyone too hungry to really talk. Padmé and Obi-Wan had managed to pull out some preserved fruits and meats and a loaf of bread from the pantry. The twins carried most of the conversation, harassing their guests with questions.

“Why d’you look the same?” Luke asked through a mouthful of fruit.

“Manners, Luke. Don’t talk and eat,” Padmé said glancing at him.

Rex smiled. “We’re related.”

“Like me and Leia are twins?” 

“Yeah,” Rex allowed, “kind of.”

“How d’you know Mom and Dads?” Leia pipped up.

Kix smiled. “We used to work with your Dads.” 

Luke jumped back in. “D’you want to see our toys?” 

Jesse laughed and replied, “Maybe after lunch.”

“Can we wear your helmets?”Luke pressed on hopefully.

Jesse nodded. “Sure, so long as you are careful with them.”

“Wizard,” Luke exclaimed and shoved another spoonful of fruit into his mouth.

“Are you gonna stay here?” Leia asked.

That question caused a long pause and a brief exchange of gestures between Rex and Anakin.

> _Stay put?_

_ > All clear > Go ahead_

Anakin felt a sudden rush at the realisation he could use their old war hand signals to talk over the children with Obi-Wan.

This opened worlds of opportunities.

“We might stay for a bit,” Rex told them both.

That seemed to assure the twins, and they refocused in on their meal and chattered between themselves. As lunch wound down, Luke and Leia huddled themselves in a corner with their toy ships and drawing paper, a stormtrooper helmet plopped over each of their heads. The six adults squashed themselves between the two couches; Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padmé on one and Rex, Jesse and Kix on the other. Given that all three clones were not small figures, it made for an almost comical visual.

“So what happened with you three?” Obi-Wan asked straight off.

“We’ve been running,” Rex said honestly. “We stuck around as long as was safe after 66; long enough to get this new armour, wait for an opportune moment, and then run like hell.”

Anakin frowned. “Wait…how did you shake the Order off so quickly?”

Kix raised his hand. “I removed our chips before it happened. I was…suspicious and did some digging after Fives died. I tested it on myself, and when there were no ‘anger management issues’, I convinced Rex and Jesse next.”

“I also did some digging,” Rex admitted. “The whole thing with Fives felt…wrong. Everything I turned up looked suspicious as fuck, so when Kix came to me with that news, I jumped on it and helped convince Jesse.”

“When 66 happened, it all fucking made sense,” Jesse continued. “We tried to come to you,” he nodded at Anakin, “but you weren’t right in the head either, suddenly ordering us to take out the Temple and calling us by our numbers…”

“Palpatine got into my head too,” Anakin admitted softly. “It wasn’t me that day.” 

“Fucking sucks,” Kix said bitterly and sighed. “So we laid low for a while, tried to internally sabotage a few things, before we saw an opportunity and ran. We quickly discovered that no-one really questioned us so long as we’re in the armour so we never saw a reason to take it off. Spent some time looking for you all since you weren’t on the lists of dead Jedi, and vanished after that first day. We gave up ages ago…”

“It’s been a shit couple of years,” Rex said finally. “What have you three been up to?”

Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé brought them up to speed on what they’d been doing on Tatooine; the three of them raising the children, Obi-Wan, Padmé, Anakin and Ahsoka all doing something for the rebellion, Anakin’s repair business, and his and Ahsoka’s forays into pod-racing. 

“Do you have a plan?” Anakin asked finally when silence fell between them.

“No,” all three chorused disjointedly.

“Why don’t you stay with us?” Padmé offered. “We’ve got space at the moment; two of you can take Obi-Wan’s bed, and another can take Ahsoka’s. You can have some time to think.”

“We don’t want to barge in—” Kix started, but Padmé was not so easily swayed.

“We’d love for you to stay,” Padmé insisted. “We can always use extra hands around the farm and we would love your company.”

Rex huffed and smiled. “Okay.”

“ _Oh no_ ,” Anakin said sarcastically, smiling at Obi-Wan, “You’re going to have to move in with us.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at him.

“We’ve been trying to get him to move in properly for months,” Anakin informed all three clones brightly. 

Rex gave him a look that very clearly indicated he had not missed Anakin’s particular brand of humour. It felt very familiar.

Just like that, their home had three new occupants.


	23. Sainthood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being patient on this chapter; all my end of semester uni assignments were due in two weeks ago so the whole time before then I barely had any time to touch this fic. Thankfully I am now on holidays and have had time to work on it more. For any of you who stalk Wookiepedia obsessively (like i have taken to doing for this fic), you may recognise a character that appears toward the second half of the chapter; I've done a bit of mixing of canon and legends information and taken a few creative liberties with it :)
> 
> Also! I have a beta now! Shout out to Matlida_Nicki who very kindly offered to proofread chapters new AND old which, damn, that's a lot of words to check. Thank you for finding the time to read over and correct my many typos and silly mistakes <3333
> 
> Content warning for intoxication in this chapter.
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

The clones slowly settled in and Obi-Wan relocated into Anakin and Padmé’s bedroom with little resistance. Obi-Wan moved all of his clothes and other miscellaneous items into their room, Padmé shuffling her and Anakin’s things around so that Obi-Wan had some designated space of his own—not that their room wasn’t littered with his things anyway. Anakin was overexcited and kissed the hesitance off of Obi-Wan’s face for a good portion of their first evening permanently together. Obi-Wan still seemed conflicted at times, and so sometimes they would give him space and let him sleep on the outside of the bed. Other times Padmé would decide he was being silly and force him into the middle for a Obi-Wan sandwich; Anakin always took the space by the door unless he really wanted to be cuddled, in which case, he would slime his own way into the middle.

Then, of course, the possessive little manoeuvre Padmé had pulled when Obi-Wan went to visit her family finally came back around to her. She’d known from talking to Anakin soon after Obi had come home that Obi-Wan had been uncomfortable with the whole scene and had thought, for some wild reason, that he was going to be a permanent dirty little secret—her boys would never cease to amaze her in the sheer multitude of ways they could be complete idiots.

 _She’d_ thought it would be a subtle way to signal to her family that Obi-Wan was part of their family without making a spectacle; she _knew_ if she tried the whole secret route _again_ for him, her family was going to be absolutely furious in the long run and she didn’t want that for him.

“So Padmé, I had a question for you,” Obi-Wan began casually when they were outside, a couple of days after the clones had moved in. Padmé was working on a vaporator while Obi-Wan assisted, though she now suspected that was just a ruse to get her alone for a chat. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I just wanted to know what that whole scarf thing was with your family—”

Padmé swallowed down a smile, trying to think of a way to explain it.

“—because your mother described it as a courting scarf, so I have to assume you planned it?”

“If I’m being honest, I’d hoped you’d wear it while visiting my family, though I couldn’t have been sure,” Padmé said. “I thought it would be okay, but after you came home Anakin said you didn’t think our relationship was something we told other people about?”

Obi-Wan gave her an awkward smile. “Not at the time, I didn’t.”

“And you’re okay with it now?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes. Are you alright with it? If everything goes back to normal and we return to Coruscant, I wouldn’t want to be an…inconvenience.”

For someone so clever, Obi-Wan could be an utter moron. Padmé sighed. “Obi-Wan, I will write it on my forehead when we go back to Coruscant if you want. I want both of you, and if that means I have to deal with some bullshit, then I will deal with some bullshit. Does that clear things up for you?”

Obi-Wan let out a small huff of laughter. “Yes, although I would like to understand the meaning behind the scarf, as I’d prefer to not be caught off guard like that in the future.”

Yeah, that was fair.

“It’s part of an cultural back and forth courting thing on Naboo,” Padmé explained. “You state your intentions with something small—so in this case I gave you a scarf—and if the other person gives you a different item back, then you’ve both agreed to court one another. This goes on for a while, swapping different items of clothing until, basically, you both have an elaborate wedding outfit. Then, assuming you’re both happy with it all, you get married; if not, you give your items back and it’s called off.” She and Anakin had skipped it entirely. It had just been a gesture of intent and a desire to claim Obi-Wan as hers in front of her family.

Obi-Wan was quiet, seemingly processing that information. He looked at Padmé thoughtfully for a long moment, before he asked, “Is it an old tradition?”

Padmé gleefully launched into a long-winded explanation of the custom, delighted to have an interested audience. Anakin joined them partway through and Padmé had to explain the whole thing over again. He seemed deeply fascinated, peppering her with questions. After that chat, Obi-Wan made no more sounds about being uncomfortable with other people knowing about their relationship and Padmé relaxed.

The clones were a little more work than a single conversation.

Rex moved into Ahsoka’s room while Kix and Jesse shared Obi-Wan’s old room. It took them a good two weeks to relax properly and, until those weeks had passed, the three of them _hovered_.

It was, well, weird. Padmé vaguely knew Rex from her various brief encounters with him, but Jesse and Kix were unknowns to her, and she was an unknown to them. That, combined with the fact it was a kriffing strange situation for them—oh look, here we are casually on this backwater planet and oh hey there's those guys we’ve been looking for, oh also their wife and kids—and now they were all suddenly living together.

The clones were also unused to the new dynamic; yes, Anakin and Obi-Wan had treated them like people and cared for them during the war, but they had also been unequivocally under both Generals’ command. Now they were all on equal footing and all five men seemed a little off kilter over it. Obi-Wan and Anakin tried their best though, always making sure they asked and never told. Rex and Kix and Jesse had been _created_ for them. Everything they had ever learned or done had been for the benefit of the Jedi and the Republic. Honestly, the more she thought about it, the more Padmé was sick to her stomach that it had been allowed to go on that way… How so many things had been allowed to just _happen_ …

…And now they had freedom and no frame of reference to come at that from. Sure they’d been free for the better part of two years, but they’d been on a mission to find familiar faces and to get away from the Empire. Now they had _stopped_ and were confronting the fact they could do _absolutely anything_ and that had to be terrifying. They had every right to feel off balance. The three of them had just suddenly and unexpectedly lost their purpose in life and Padmé really didn’t think any of them had ever taken a moment to consider “What happens after?” in their lives, and it was showing.

So Padmé watched the three of them hover around the edges of the Skywalker family, offering to help here and there, sitting around aimlessly with each other and staring into space. She resolved to try and help them along. They seemed least threatened by her and she _just wanted to help_.

To begin, she asked them for help with anything and everything if they were looking lost. She'd ask them to help with dinner, assist with the vaporators, watch the kids, sweep out the sand that inevitably got indoors. Padmé always made it clear that they could turn her down, but they'd usually leap on any opportunity to be busy.

More often than not though, the twins cornered and hassled them. Having three new adults in the house was clearly a godsend for the twins and they were cashing in on it. The clones were quickly put into the same category as Ahsoka and were immediately christened Uncle Rex, Uncle Jesse, and Uncle Kix. Padmé had later found out it had began with Leia calling Jesse, ‘Auntie’, who had then asserted that it would, in fact, be ‘Uncle’ and suddenly the three clones found the title unshakable.

Luke would most often drag Rex around after him, asking all sorts of questions about ships and space and far off locations. Rex took it all in his stride, answering Luke clearly and efficiently each time. Eventually, Padmé would find them out in the yard, sitting beside the swoops and tinkering with them. Rex would work while chatting to Luke, and Luke would chat back and hand him tools and ask even more questions. If Anakin was home, he’d often join them, sitting beside his son and the former soldier, helping on the swoop or the speeder or the pod.

As time passed, Luke quickly garnered the nickname “Joystick” from the clones. Apparently, it was due to his perpetual happy attitude and his laser-like focus on all things mechanical. Like father like son.

Leia was eventually nicknamed “General”. It had come about by accident on all the clones part, Rex automatically replying, “Yes General,” to Leia when she’d told them dinner was ready and that they had to hurry up. Combined with the face Anakin often made when he expected to be listened to, Rex had reflexively called her General. The other two, finding it _hilarious_ , followed suit and the name had stuck.

Leia had predominantly attached herself to Kix. She, like Luke, saw a fantastic opportunity to assault him with questions and once she worked out he was a doctor, grilled him on that as well. Leia drank up every drop of information he gave her and _then,_ once she realised they had been soldiers, wanted to know everything about _that_. Kix was reluctant to pass that onto her, so Leia focused her attention on Jesse, who taught her about manoeuvres and battle plans and formations. Again, she sucked up the information with eager ears. Padmé knew it was happening as Leia would always come to her mother later with more questions about whatever the clones had taught her that day. Given that none of them were traumatising Leia with information that was unsuitable for someone of her age, Padmé let it continue.

Slowly, the three began to relax around the home, feeling more welcome and having had time to reestablish their relationships with Anakin and Obi-Wan. Padmé had found it funny however, the first time any of the clones actually caught either Jedi in a romantic situation. From their bets, they clearly knew of the embarrassing amounts of pining that went on during the war, but not had to confront the actuality that yes, Anakin and Obi-Wan and Padmé were all sleeping together. Rex had stopped dead in his tracks catching them all curled up on the couch together; Kix had sighed, rolled his eyes and kept going; Jesse had covered a wide range of facial expressions, before settling on weirdly pleased.

However, the former soldiers all still appeared to be rather bored.

One afternoon, when Padmé had gone into town to get groceries and supplies, she decided to take Kix and Rex along with her. The two of them had been acting a little restless and she thought an outing would do them good. She’d offered it to Jesse as well, but he’d decided to stay home and watch the kids with Obi-Wan; Anakin had borrowed Rex’s swoop to go do jobs so the three of them climbed into the speeder and headed into town.

As the three of them circled the market, Padmé letting Rex and Kix lead the way, they ran into Brato at one of the stalls. They exchanged pleasantries and Padmé steered the conversation to Brato’s work, and then carefully dropped the fact that Kix was a trained as a medic into the discussion.

Padmé watched as Brato’s eyes widen and he quickly asked Kix, “Do you want a job?”

“What?” Kix just blinked at him for a moment, clearly only having been half listening to the conversation.

“A job,” Brato repeated. “I’m the only decent doctor for fucking miles and miles and I have more work than I could ever possibly deal with. I can pay you a decent wage.”

Kix blinked at him again and then frowned. “We don’t know how long we’re staying—”

“I will take temporary assistance; even a week would be immensely helpful,” Brato bargained. “If you do end up staying, I’d be happy to keep you on. I’m just… _desperate.”_

Kix’s face said he knew exactly how it felt to be overwhelmed with patients.

Kix turned his head to Rex, raising a questioning eyebrow. Rex shrugged, noncommittally, and Kix replied with, “Well, I guess if you don’t care if I suddenly vanish, then yeah, sure. I can help.”

“Thank you!” Brato muttered something that sounded very prayer-like and asked, “When can you start? I have equipment you can use back at the practice.”

“I can start tomorrow, I guess.”

“ _Thank you. Really.”_ Brato clasped Kix’s hand in his and shook it vigorously. “Do you want me to show you the practice tomorrow? Or now?”

Kix looked at Padmé. “Are you in a rush?”

Padmé shook her head, “No, I’m sure Rex and I can entertain ourselves for a short while if you want to go now.”

“Now sounds good then,” Kix decided.

As they made to walk away, Padmé pulled Kix back and muttered, “You can trust him. He knows who we are.”

Kix raised his eyebrows at her and nodded.

She and Rex then killed two hours in town. After they finished their shopping, the two of them decided to head to the cantina for a relaxed long lunch. Padmé liked Rex. She’d known him by face and name during the war, and she’d known he’d held Anakin’s trust completely, so she trusted him and, since living with him and the others, she’d come to enjoy their company. The three of them were rather lively when they chose to be and had a good sense of humour.

After their meal, Kix was still gone, so Padmé suggested they move onto drinks. The drinking portion of their afternoon started rather well, chatting amicably on a variety of topics, from the twins to blasters to how to best care for a vaporator before as they somehow, and rather unintentionally, _kept_ _ordering drinks_.

“Honestly Padmé, I admire you,” Rex said, three drinks in, his ‘s’ a little fuzzy around the edges.

Padmé frowned, propped her chin on her hands and asked, “How so?” swirling her finger around the straw in her glass.

“Because you somehow manage dating both Anakin and Obi-Wan, two of the most intense and frustrating people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing,” Rex admitted. “Really, I don’t know how you do it. Anakin was difficult enough to manage when he had a ‘good idea’ or was stressed and under pressure, but add Obi-Wan into the picture and they were just…” He struggled to find a word.

Lips loosened and having had no-one to talk to about this, Padmé let all restraint fall away, exclaiming, “Rex you would not _believe_ what we had to get through to be here now!” Padmé then recounted in vivid detail, in the way only a person who has kept something bottled up in their head for years can, their first year or so on Tatooine. Fortunately, as much as her brain to mouth filter seemed to have broken, she at least had the sense to speak quietly.

Rex was the perfect audience, especially a little drunk. He laughed and sighed in all the right places, joining Padmé in her frustration at the pair of them, throwing in his own stories of Anakin or Obi-Wan doing something fucking ridiculous.

After her story was told, she sighed and said, “Thank you for listening Rex. I’ve had no-one to talk to about any of it. While we’re having a heart to heart, any dramas or trials you want to share?” She laughed as she said it, fully expecting Rex to ignore her.

Instead, he launched into his own story. He recounted in much more detail the preceding years and their hardships. She learnt of periods where they went hungry, Kix’s medical skills often the only thing they had to trade for food or shelter. Of near misses with the Empire and nearly being discovered to be deserters more than once. Of planet after planet without intelligent life. Of a growing despair from all three of them that this is what their lives were now, and would be forever; to have been made for a war and then left to slowly waste away in the vast emptiness of space. He let out a long breath at the end of the telling, Padmé’s hand moving to rest on his for a moment of solidarity, before he then turned to the highlights. He told her of the people they had been able to help, the amazing sights they’d discovered, and how tightly knit the three of them had become after the war. Padmé didn’t think she’d ever heard Rex speak so much and when he was finished, his face read much the same surprise.

Rex shook his head. “I didn’t realise I had so much to say.”

“It’s good to get it out,” Padmé said, smiling. “I’ll get this round.” There was a voice in the back of her mind that said something about being responsible and a parent and something else equally boring, so she ignored it.

Another round (or two? three?) later and the party had to end. Kix and Brato found them still sitting at the bar, both rather the worse for wear and Padmé found herself in fits of giggles at most things. She attempted some kind of conversation, but judging by Kix and Brato’s expressions, they were very aware of how far gone Padmé and Rex were. At some point, Padmé tuned out of the conversation, finding an interesting grain in the paneling of the table in front of her.

“Your husband is a good man,” Brato said seriously as the conversation drew to a close, throwing her a toothy smile.

Caught off guard, and suddenly having to focus on the conversation, Padmé responded reflexively with, “Yes, he is. A lovely boy. Excellent kisser.”

Brato laughed and gave the three of them a quick wave and left them with a farewell of, “Stay safe and let Kix drive you both home. See you tomorrow, Kix.” Then he was gone.

Rex immediately quizzed Kix on his afternoon and Padmé listened to the two of them discuss Brato and his practice. Kix relayed everything he’d learned, mainly statistics for blaster wounds, illness, injuries, and the like. Padmé wasn’t really listening at all. Padmé was fairly certain Kix was humouring them anyway given the way he was smiling quietly at the grandiose gestures Rex made and guiding his rather drunk friend back to the speeder. Padmé just kept her elbow linked with Rex’s to make sure she didn’t lose them in the crowd.

When they found the speeder, Padmé lay in the back seat and stared up at the cloudless blue sky all the way home. Rex and Kix sat in the front, talking, but Padmé was too busy having a lovely time relaxing to listen. It had felt _incredible_ to get everything off her chest. Sure, she’d told Bail some things, but nothing incriminating regarding Anakin. Rex was trustworthy and she knew had seen things far worse than Anakin going a bit off the deep end for a while.

Suddenly Rex was leaning over her. “We’re home,” he said happily and Padmé sat up, very nearly hitting her head against his.

“Oh, so we are,” she noted. “That was quick.”

Rex helped her climb out of the speeder, laughing when she struggled to get her second leg over the side, almost ending up sprawled in the sand. Rex thankfully caught her and then the three of them headed toward the house.

Rex stumbled in the sand before he began laughing wildly and his legs gave out. He ended up laying flat on the ground, nearly breathless from elation. Padmé, overcome by the sight, doubled over in laughter and very nearly joined him on the ground. Kix sighed the sigh of a man who was very done with them both.

Rex then set about making sand-angels, and Padmé just kept laughing. Rex, very tall, strong, sensible Rex, flailing about in the sand had to be the fucking _funniest_ thing Padmé had seen all year.

“Padmé, did you get Rex drunk?” Obi-Wan asked, watching the three of them from the doorway. He must have heard the noise and had come to greet them. Padmé was suddenly possessed with a fierce urge to kiss him all over his lovely face.

Padmé giggled and grinned so hard her face hurt. “Perhaps,” she purred and slithered up to him, tossing her arms over his shoulders and hanging off him. She was doing her best to appear sexy, and she felt it, so it must be working. “Mmmm, what a handsome man I have here. Yes, very handsome. All for me.”

Obi-Wan looked down at her with a quirked smile. “Did you get each other drunk?”

Padmé laughed again. “Yeah! Didn’t mean to. Just happened.” She gasped, “Oh! I had something important to tell you!”

“Yes?”

Padmé grinned again. “Come down here. _It’s a secret_.”

Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment before he leant closer to Padmé. Opportunity created, she slid her lips against his and went about soundly kissing him. Oh, that was exactly what she wanted.

When he pulled back, she heard a muttered, “I thought that might be the secret,” from Obi-Wan.

“Padmé?” came another voice just behind Obi-Wan.

Padmé let out a whoop of joy at seeing Anakin. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him closer, giving him the same treatment she’d given their partner.

When she pulled back, she licked her lips in satisfaction, muttering. “Oh yes. Now there’s two lovely handsome boys to kiss now. I told Brato what an _excellent_ kisser you are, Ani.”

Anakin looked faintly horrified and looked over to Kix for an explanation.

All Padmé heard was, “I found them both like this. Clearly they can’t be trusted in a bar together for a few hours.”

Rex was suddenly beside her, a large hand resting firmly on her shoulder. “We had a good talk. Great talk. A few drinks.

“I’d say more than a few,” came from Anakin.

“You two,” Rex informed the pair of them, “are the _worst._ Padmé is a kriffing Goddess and we are now family.”

“I like Rex drunk,” Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, a lopsided grin on his face.

“So, want to kiss some more?” Padmé asked Obi-Wan hopefully. “I would like that a lot, please.” Padmé’s hand finally found a route around Obi-Wan and her fingers then found their way to get a good feel of his very lovely arse.

Obi-Wan yelped a little and glared at Anakin. “You never said she was a handsy drunk.”

Anakin scoffed. “She’s always handsy. Let's get them in and hydrated.”

Padmé sighed, sensing that kissing Obi-Wan was not in her immediate future. She turned her attention to Anakin.

“Ani,” she drawled, hopping between them and latching onto Anakin’s arm. “Come here darling.”

Anakin nodded in the direction of the kitchen, but stayed where he was with Padmé worming her way under his shirt. “What is it, angel?”

“You are so terribly pretty,” Padmé observed, one hand abandoning it’s task to caress his face. She traced her finger around the edges of his lips, admiring how lovely and soft they were. Such a wonderful shape. Excellent for kissing.

“Padmé?” Anakin asked, and her fingers briefly dipped with his chin. Attention drawn, she focused on his eyes which, _Gods yes, please and thank you_ , were staring at her. Fuck he had such long lashes.

Padmé made an unintelligible noise, told Anakin to, “Stop being so kriffing handsome!” and decided that kissing whatever she could reach would work for her. Neck would _absolutely do_.

“Padmé, I love you, but you’ve had too much to drink for me to feel okay about this,” Anakin said quietly. “I’ll give you as many kisses as you want later when you’re more sober. Okay?”

“Okay. If you're going to be _boring and sensible,”_ Padmé sighed mournfully. “I’m holding you to that though.”

Anakin kissed her cheek and muttered, “Thank you.”

The afternoon then became an exercise in consuming the water and food that Threepio brought her until Padmé once again regained self awareness and sobriety. She felt absolutely terrible and her stomach was roiling unhappily.

While she hadn’t _meant_ to get so inebriated, she couldn’t exactly regret it. At least not entirely. Even though she was a little embarrassed at how she'd behaved with her boys, the way she and Rex had bonded was irreplaceable; After this little incident, Padmé found Rex far more relaxed around her and he would often seek her out just for company. Then, like good soldiers, Kix and Jesse followed their Captain’s lead and also relaxed more into their positions in the house.

Jesse, suddenly and without warning, started offering to cook dinner and proved to be a rather excellent chef. He ended up fixing at least half of the meals each week, often accompanying Padmé or Obi-Wan when they went into town to shop at the market. Kix settled into his new job and seemed very happy with it. He took his swoop into town almost every morning, usually taking at least one day off per week when he could, and helping the many residents of Tatooine. Brato had been pleased by his excellent work and by having some of the workload taken from his shoulders. The next time Padmé was in town and ran into him, he’d thanked her profusely for introducing them.

Two months in, and Ahsoka due to be home within a fortnight, they realised they had a space issue; All the bedrooms were full, with Rex still camped in what was normally Ahsoka’s room and Jesse and Kix in the other.

Padmé brought it up over dinner and it was decided they would dig out two more rooms. All five boys got to work the next morning and through careful use of the Force, some shovels, and a very positive cheer squad (Luke and Leia sat cheerfully on the bottom step of the stairs) they expanded their home once again.

Two days of digging and close inspections by Anakin and Obi-Wan, their house had two new rooms. Kix remained in what had been Obi-Wan’s room, while Rex moved into the new room beside Ahsoka’s, and Jesse took the one beside Kix.

What followed warmed her heart; the three of them set about customising their own bedrooms. With their previous stash of funds and Kix’s influx of wealth from his paycheques from Brato, the clones bought fixings for each of their rooms. They took themselves into town one day and came home with a backseat full of furniture, decorations, and knick-knacks.

Kix’s room was fairly spartan. It had what it needed; a bed, a chest to store his clothes, and a set of shelves to put things on. Kix focused mostly on getting himself a decent selection of plain, soft clothing more than anything else. That, and a variety of books.

Rex went for full comfort. He set about finding the softest mattress, sheets, pillows, _anything,_ for his room. He also tried to get most of it in blue. By the time he was done, his bed was so plush and stacked with pillows that if either of the twins ever ventured onto it, they very quickly disappeared beneath it all.

Jesse went in every direction. If he liked it, he got it. An oddly shaped blue-wood bed, a variety of cute knick-knacks to sit on a shelf, and a very wide range of colours for his clothes. He wasn’t necessarily _good_ at coordinating said colours, but it made him very, very happy and considering he’d worn either black or white for his entire life, Padmé couldn’t blame him.

Clearly, all three had decided to stay permanently. It was an unspoken decision, but it was one none of them ever contradicted. In response, Anakin brought home a bigger dining table and chairs that could fit everyone, rather than continuing the silly ‘half of us eat at the table and half eat on the couches’ thing they had going. Thus, the pact was sealed.

The clones were part of the family now.

* * *

Ahsoka coming home was an exciting affair for all. None of them had actually _told_ her that the three clones had moved in, so when Obi-Wan picked her up from in town and returned home only for her to be swamped by three large men and two small children, she just about lost her mind.

Padmé and Anakin watched the whole debacle as Ahsoka, clearly completely thrilled to finally see her friends again, shrieked their names in utter joy before she was caught by all three clones in a giant, likely bone-crushing, hug. Padmé was fairly certain she’d seen Rex’s feet come off the ground for just a moment too.

Obi-Wan walked past the spectacle with a smile and gave Padmé and Anakin a kiss each before going inside with a muttered, “I’m going to put on some tea.”

Hugs and greetings exchanged, Jesse nodded down at their feet saying, “I think Joystick and the General want some attention.”

Ahsoka laughed at the nicknames and focused on the two little kids wrapped around her ankles. She crouched down and pulled each of them into a one-armed hug.

“Hello you two, how are you doing?” Ahsoka asked.

Leia immediately launched into a scattered account of the last few weeks, telling Ahsoka all about how Uncle Kix showed her some interesting books and how she saw a Jawa two weeks ago. Her story told, Luke began his thrilling retelling of all the maintenance he and Uncle Rex had done on his swoop-bike and that Uncle Jesse was the best at making cookies.

“Have you been practicing while I’ve been gone?” Ahsoka asked, giving each twin one of her hands to hold as they all headed inside.

“Yeah, a bit,” Luke told her.

Ten minutes later saw all nine of them somehow packed into the lounge room, plus a very pleased Artoo, spread between couches and the dining table, with the twins on the floor in front of Ahsoka. Obi-Wan handed tea to any who wanted it and set out a few biscuits on the table. The twins held Ahsoka’s attention for some time longer before they got distracted and decided that playing with their toys on the floor was more interesting.

Ahsoka and the clones took some time to catch up, including a very brief reiteration of what they had been told when the clones first arrived.

Afterward, Ahsoka took some time to talk with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé, before Anakin’s comm-unit went off and he was called away to a technological emergency. It seemed that Ahsoka was well, if _really_ tired and ready for a break before she had to go again.

Ahsoka was loving what she was doing for the rebellion and once she began talking about it, the clones in turn began quizzing her on everything she’d been doing. Padmé listened as Asoka spoke to Kix, Jesse, and Rex about what she’d been doing with and for the rebellion; the raids, the contact building, the information gathering, the organisation of rebels cells, and everything in-between. Padmé, having heard it all before, decided she would start on making them some lunch. She nodded her head toward the kitchen with a questioning eyebrow at Obi-Wan, who nodded and followed along to help.

“What do you think?” Padmé asked. “I’ve still got a lot of vegetables from our last market visit; I was thinking either soup or some kind of pasta.”

“Pasta sounds good,” Obi-Wan said and disappeared into the pantry.

Padmé pulled out the appropriate pot, knives and chopping board while listening with half an ear to the ongoing conversation in the next room.

Ahsoka was now answering questions from Rex about how they were going about things in the rebellion when he finally said, “I want in.”

There was a moment of complete silence.

“You sure?” Ahsoka asked. “You don’t have to fight anymore. You can do whatever you want.”

Rex’s voice was firm. “I want in. I want to help. Fuck Palpatine and his stupid kriffing Empire.”

Jesse let out a great, “Hurrah!” and then, “I’d like to help as well.”

“Yeah?” Ahsoka confirmed.

“Definitely,” Jesse replied. “Not all the time though. I like living here.”

Ahsoka laughed and Padmé smiled as Obi-Wan placed a selection of vegetables and dried pasta on the bench in front of her.

“Kix?” Padmé heard Jesse ask.

Padmé turned around where she stood, just able to see Kix and half of Ahsoka from the kitchen.

Kix had his lips pressed together and was looking between them. His chin moved in such a way that it appeared as though his mouth was full of words and was struggling to let them out.

Finally Kix shook his head. “I don’t want to.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “I _like_ what I’m doing here. I’m helping people who have nowhere else to turn to and who need me. We fought in the Jedi’s war because we had to. I don’t want to _fight_. I want to do what I’m good at, I—“ he sighed. “For the first time in our lives we have a choice. I’m choosing this. I’m not fighting someone else’s war again.”

There was a long silence. Padmé resisted the urge to shuffle where she stood, so she turned and began cutting through a root vegetable.

Jesse spoke first. “I understand. 

“You do what you have to do, brother,” Rex said in agreement. “Besides, we’ll still come here and get you to patch us up. You won't get lonely.”

Padmé heard Kix sigh and she could imagine how he rolled his eyes in annoyance, before saying, “If you get seriously hurt being idiots, I’m not healing you.”

Padmé tuned out of the conversation as Obi-Wan wrapped himself around her back, his arms coming to rest on her stomach and his head on her shoulder. He kissed her cheek, Padmé smiling into it and turning her head to kiss him for real.

“What would you like me to do?” Obi-Wan asked, relocating himself so he was less draped over her and more to her side with an arm about her waist.

“Well you could start boiling the water, or you could give me another kiss _and then_ boil the water,” Padmé suggested, a smile tugging at the right side of her lips.

Obi-Wan chuckled and then touched his hand to the base of Padmé’s chin, tilting it up so his lips could meet hers. Padmé made a happy sound and happily kissed back, opening her mouth just a little—

“Yep, they’re kissing in the kitchen again,” Jesse said suddenly from behind her.

Padmé startled, shot Jesse a withering look, and gave Obi-Wan another peck just to spite them. “It’s my kitchen, I can kiss whomever I want, thank you,” Padmé asserted, and went back to chopping the vegetables.

Lunch was a loud, exciting affair and everyone ended the day in high spirits, Anakin only returning from his emergency call-out in time for dinner.

The next few weeks were an exciting time. Ahsoka spent much of it catching up with Jesse, Kix and Rex, while also making sure the twins were still progressing in their Force training. She also took great pride in showing off the pod that she and Anakin had put together, initially taking each clone for a ride before Jesse convinced her to let him drive for a while.

Padmé often heard the four of them talking late into the night, and Rex and Jesse were both clearly eager to be of use to the rebellion. From what Padmé understood, it would still be a while before either was deployed out into space to run missions, but Ahsoka spent a large amount of time briefing them on what had been going on and what the rebellion was working to do anyway.

The twins were ecstatic to have Auntie Soka back. They capitalised on all the time they could; playing with her, talking with her, and hounding her with questions about space and the things she’d seen. Evidently their time with the clones had cemented the idea that there was much more out there than just their own little dustball planet.

Anakin spent as much time as he could with her. He was often away because of work—it had heavily picked up recently and he was stretched rather thin—but he always tried to find time to spend with Ahsoka. He’d most often sit in on training sessions with the twins, heckling or yelling actually useful suggestions. Padmé suspected he was secretly very proud of all three of his children and their progress.

In the end though, Ahsoka was only able to stay for about six weeks before she was called out again. She promised to be home in time for the twin's third life day in three months and would contact Bail to let him know of Rex and Jesse’s interest in helping.

Anakin was very sad when she left again, something heavy hovering at the edges of his eyes.

* * *

Padmé looked up.

The sky was _grey_. With _clouds._ Not the thin, wispy sort that normally dotted the Tatooine sky, but thick, dark, voluptuous clouds.

She felt a fat drop of water land on her cheek.

A bright smile broke over her face and she dashed inside. “Ani! Obi! Get the kids, I think it’s going to rain!” She saw a confused look on Rex’s face and a glowingly excited one on Anakin and Obi-Wan’s, before Padmé hurried back outside, unwilling to miss a moment more of the rare event.

She had never in her life gone so long without experiencing rain and _Gods_ she had missed it. The soft patterings and heavy thuds, the feeling of clothes soaking up droplets and streaking down her skin, and the _smell—_ _Oh_ she’d forgotten how much she loved it. Heavy droplets had started falling in greater numbers when she returned outside and Padmé closed her eyes, tilted her head up into the sky and just _breathed_. She could feel every soft droplet hitting her skin, each one feeling like a breath of fresh air felt after being trapped inside for days.

Padmé turned a few minutes later when the door creaked open, followed by two pairs of quickly pattering feet dashing out to their mother. Padmé opened her eyes to see Luke and Leia standing on either side of her and Anakin and Obi-Wan making their way outside after them.

Luke shrieked, attempting to stare up at the sky, only to have water fall into his eyes. Padmé watched him problem solve by shutting his eyes and tilting his face up into it. That was her clever boy. His problem solved, Luke just stood there, imitating his mother, and letting the water run down his face, his tongue occasionally darting out to lick it.

Once that wore off, he opened his eyes and began running as fast as he could around and around in circles, whooping happily.

“Shower?” Leia asked, staring at the palms of her hands thoughtfully as droplets fell on them.

“No, Leia. _Rain_. It’s outside and comes from the sky,” Padmé said.

“Rain,” Leia echoed, nodded and took off after Luke.

Padmé stood with her face pointed at the sky for a time longer before she checked on everyone else. Anakin was laying flat on his back, arms and legs splayed out around him, the twins on either side of him doing the same. Obi-Wan was standing stock still, arms crossed and eyes closed, doing absolutely nothing, with a small smile on his lips.

“Are you all okay?” Rex asked from the doorway of the house, watching them with a perplexed expression.

“It hasn’t rained since we got here,” Padmé replied. “The twins have never seen rain before.”

“Weird,” Rex muttered, and remained in the doorway. Clearly _he_ wasn’t desperate to get soaking wet.

Padmé watched Anakin and the twins lying beside him on the ground before she turned her attention on Obi-Wan. He was still standing quietly, seemingly at peace, arms crossed over his chest, just basking in the weather. Then he suddenly startled, all calm gone to be replaced with clear anxiety as he glanced around them, almost panicked.

“What’s wrong?” Padmé asked Obi-Wan, walking over to him and putting her hand on his shoulder.

“I—” He paused and frowned. “I thought I heard something. Someone. I—” He trailed off again, the crease in his forehead only getting deeper. “Did you hear anything?”

Padmé shook her head. “No, just the rain.”

“Hm,” Obi-Wan said and then fell quiet again.

Padmé released her hand from his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Obi-Wan just gave a slight shake of his head, clearly focusing.

Padmé accepted his silence and let him be, moving to sit on the ground beside Anakin and the twins. Luke scrambled over the wet sand and dumped some in his mother’s lap.

“Me’n’Leia are gonna build a castle,” Luke informed her. “Wanna help?”

Padmé smiled at him. “Of course. Is Dad going to help too?”

Luke shook his head. “Dad’s asleep.”

Padmé looked down at Anakin. His lips twitched slightly in the echo of a smile. Not asleep then.

“That’s terrible,” Padmé said seriously. “Maybe we should wake him up. Help me put some sand down his pants, Luke.”

Anakin was very suddenly awake, yelling, “Surprise!” and grabbing Luke around the waist to hoist him into the air and onto his lap.

Luke shrieked, wet droplets flying off his clothes and hair, and gripped his father’s hands. Once seated on Anakin, Luke frowned. “You were asleep.”

“You and your mother woke me up.”

Luke frowned again. “You just di’n want sand in your pants.”

Anakin smiled. “You’ve got me there.”

“Wanna help with’the castle? Mum said she would.”

Leia suddenly cut in, sliding up closer to her father and half crawling on top of him as well. “Please, Dad,” she pleaded, her big brown eyes staring up at him hopefully. Padmé had to resist laughing. There was no way he could resist them both.

“Okay,” Anakin agreed and the four of them shuffled into a small circle around the wet sand.

The rain was still coming down in torrents and Rex seemed to have decided that even if they were crazy, they were happy, and had vanished back inside the house. Rivulets of water ran down all of them. Padmé could feel how her hair was stuck to the side of her face and neck. Anakin’s hair was hanging long and heavy around his head, utterly sopping and dripping onto the ground. Luke had recently had a haircut and his hair clung to his head, the ends of it reaching just past his ears. Leia had her long hair pulled back into a single plait which flicked water around each time she swung her head.

The dampness of the sand made it much easier to work with than usual. They all started with their hands, shoving it all into a pile and following the twins instructions as to what they wanted to build and where. Eventually, Anakin turned it into a small exercise in Force control, him initially starting to carve into the sand with the Force, which was then excitedly picked up by the twins. Padmé, due to her lack of Force manipulation, watched quietly and provided moral support and constructive comments on their design.

“Wha’s Daddy doing?” Leia asked, looking over at Obi-Wan who was still standing stock still and focusing on _something._

“I’m not sure,” Padmé said.

“Do you think he’d like’ta help?”

“Why don’t you go ask him, love.”

“Daddy?” Leia asked, running over to Obi-Wan and giving his shirt a gentle tug. “Do you wanta help with the castle?”

Obi-Wan finally opened his eyes again and looked down at Leia. There was a moment of hesitation before he said, “Okay. Show me what to do.”

Leia grinned, grabbed his hand, and dragged him to sit in their little circle around their castle. She gave Obi-Wan a very thorough run-down of what they’d built so far and what they wanted to do next.

An hour later, soaked to the skin but all very happy, they had a rather impressive sand castle. Just by looking at it, Padmé was fairly certain there were sections held up by the Force alone.

By now, both twins were looking rather tired and Luke appeared to be shivering a little, between the water and the cool change the rain had brought, he was likely cold.

“Okay. Luke, Leia; it’s time to go inside and warm up,” Padmé said, standing up and motioning for them to do the same.

“What about the castle?” Luke asked, though he stood up immediately.

Leia looked between them all, a very serious expression on her face, and said, “We gotta destroy it.”

Obi-Wan laughed and hauled her into a standing position, asking, “Luke, what do you think?”

Luke was thoughtful for a moment, looking between his sister and the castle. “Destroy.”

At some unspoken sign, Luke and Leia jumped onto the castle. The structure crumbled beneath their feet, both children jumping and kicking the heavy sand with utter delight. When the damage was done, all of them reentered the house.

Rex had very kindly left a pile of towels by the door.

* * *

Two weeks after that they got a call from Ahsoka asking if they were still happy to be a safe house as she had a rebel in a very precarious situation and needed them safe _now_. Padmé of course said yes, and a week later they had _another_ guest.

Yarro arrived at their home silently one morning, softly knocking on the door while Padmé was eating breakfast with the twins.

Padmé opened the door to a very tired looking young woman. She was swathed in dark green fabrics with black smudged about her eyes, sharply contrasting with her pale skin.  

“I’m Yarro,” she said, matter of factly. “Fulcrum sent me.”

Padmé smiled, stood aside in the open door and said, “You’re in the right place. Come in.”

Yarro stepped into the house with confidence, looking around before her eyes fell on the twins.

She looked at Padmé. “A safe-house with kids?”

Padmé smiled. “I’d like to see anyone try taking this place.”

It was then that Anakin and Obi-Wan appeared from downstairs, both still looking half-awake and rather scruffy. Obi-Wan had a tuft of hair at the back of his head sticking straight up while Anakin’s was just all over the place.

“Anakin, Obi-Wan, this is Yarro,” Padmé said. “Oh, and I’m Padmé. I should have said that earlier. The kids are Luke and Leia and I will introduce you to the others when they appear.”

“Lovely to meet you,” Obi-Wan said, offering her a hand which she shook, seemingly on autopilot.

Yarro’s eyes flickered between the three of them for a second before recognition lit her eyes. “Oh shit,” Yarro said in an almost breathless voice. She then turned to Padmé, asking, “Aren’t you dead?”

Padmé laughed. “Not as far as I can tell.”

“Damn.” A long pause. “Kriffing fuck. Who knows? About you. Or any of this.”

“Organa and Fulcrum,” Padmé said.

“And I’m sure you realise that what you now know doesn’t leave this house,” Anakin continued.

Yarro nodded. “Of course. It certainly explains why Fulcrum told me I was not to tell anyone what I saw here.”

“Excellent,” Obi-Wan said, ushering her over to the table and seating her opposite Leia. “I’m sure you must be hungry.”

Now trapped, the twins lunged at the opportunity of a new person, jumping immediately into conversation. Their guest occupied, Padmé helped Anakin and Obi-Wan make breakfast. As usual, the clones appeared just before breakfast was ready to be served; Kix was dressed for work and dropped his bag down by the front door before he sat at the table.

Jesse and Rex took to the newcomer very happily, stating that they were also with the rebellion and began catching up on Galactic gossip with her, Padmé catching Yarro stealing glances at her during the meal. The clones asked her for tips since they were set to go out on their first mission within the next few months and, when they were done interrogating her, she asked them about their service in the Clone War.

From then on, Yarro generally kept herself scarce in Ahsoka’s room. She’d join them for meals or occasionally loiter around the living room, but she mostly kept to herself; Padmé suspected she either isn’t want to intrude, had other things she could be doing, or was having a well-earned patch of rest and alone-time.

Eventually, around two weeks into her stay, she began interacting more with the household. Padmé began to see her taking to Kix, Rex, and Jesse in a group or individually, and a couple of sessions of talking with Anakin, but mostly speaking with Obi-Wan—once she’d even caught her chatting and playing with the twins. Padmé asked Obi-Wan about it after the third time she’d noticed them hanging out together and he explained that she was very interested in his knowledge of battle tactics and how the Republic and its army had run. Yarro had no idea about it and thought it would be handy to know what the Empire had come from going forward. Obi-Wan complemented her analytical skills and thought she could become a very competent leader in the future given proper instruction, especially given how proactive she was in gaining new information.

She did, however, seem to avoid Padmé. Yes, she was civil and polite, speaking if spoken to, but never deigned to have a conversation with her unlike everyone else in the house, even if she did often catch Yarro watching her. Padmé decided that she would ignore it. It wasn’t an issue and if Yarro didn’t want to talk with her, than that was fine. A little insulting, sure, but Padmé had lived a life of political bullshit and could deal with it.

Then of course, Yarro had to turn the whole situation on its head.

“Did you know you’re basically the patron saint of the rebellion?” Yarro asked her out of nowhere one afternoon.

Padmé looked up from the hat she was knitting, curled up happily on the couch, Yarro standing on the opposite side of the table, and frowned. “I’m sorry?”

“Did you know you’re basically the patron saint of the rebellion?” Yarro repeated.

“Uh, no,” Padmé said.

“It’s just—do you realise what it would do for people to know you’re alive?” There was a fervour in her voice that Padmé hadn’t seen before.

Padmé just shook her head. “No?”

“You’re— You—” Yarro seemed at a loss. “I know I haven’t spoken to you very much but…kriff, you mean so much to the rebellion—to me. And, to know that you’re _alive_ —!” Words seemed to fail her again.

Padmé felt a little short on words herself, and just said, “I’m sorry, I don’t exactly follow you.”

Yarro moved to sit on the other couch, looking at her earnestly. “You are like…a mythical protective spirit to much of the rebellion. A martyr. Killed by the Emperor to silence your voice and then twist your memory to his own purposes.”

“An interesting theory.”

“You’re remembered by many for your outspoken beliefs and doing your best to fight for what was right.” She scowled. “We all knew the Emperor must have had you killed to silence you, regardless of the whole ‘Jedi plot’ nonsense he spun. Then he turned your name into a _farce_ of a holiday—” Padmé was fascinated by the utter outrage in her voice. “What I don’t understand is _why_ he did it and what you’re doing out here, completely and utterly _not dead_?”

Padmé sighed and put down her knitting. “I’m out here because it’s safest for me and my family. We _think_ the Emperor faked my death as a trap to draw in Anakin, and that’s the part of the story that’s…complicated. And private.”

Yarro nodded in understanding.

“However, I still do my part out here,” Padmé continued. “Bail sends me work to do for the rebellion and we often talk strategy and planning. Obi-Wan often runs missions for him as well. Anakin keeps his ears open for information in the spaceport and Rex and Jesse are about to start missions for the rebellion too.”

Yarro smiled. “I know people who would absolutely die knowing you were here, helping us.” Her lips quirked. “More of a real guardian angel than an imagined one.” A pause. “I’m sorry I’ve been so standoffish toward you. It began as shock and then…well I think starstruck would be the way to describe it. I idolised you when I was younger. My parents followed politics very closely; my mother worked in local government and she admired you greatly.”

“Where are you from?”

“Ghorman.”

“Can I ask why you ended up here with us?”

“I survived a massacre carried out by the Empire two years ago. Initially I was angry; furious at the Empire but essentially directionless. The rebellion eventually heard of me and the little stunts I pulled off to get back at them any way I could.” A pause. “Once the rebellion picked me up, they started me on spreading dissent around the Galaxy by telling my story. I go to a new planet and try to get a platform to speak.” She grinned. “The Empire doesn’t like it _at all_. They don’t want their atrocities broadcasted too widely. It makes problems for them in the Senate. So I’m on their shit-list now; execute on sight and everything.”

“Why the massacre?”

“We were protesting Imperial taxation. Grand Tosser Tarkin landed his ship on us.”

Padmé felt her eyes go wide, her lips falling open in outrage. “Just for _protesting_?”

Yarro nodded. Padmé could see the tightness in her eyes; the residual fear and trauma still hovering at her edges.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

Yarro shrugged but gave Padmé a thin smile. “I use it against them now.”

After the conversation, Yarro was much more personable and would often seek Padmé out. Most often, she wanted to ask Padmé about her thoughts on something she was working on or to gain Padmé’s insights on things that had gone on at the end of the Republic. Padmé had to agree with Obi-Wan; this girl could go far.

A week or so after their heart to heart, while she and Anakin were reading with Luke, Artoo notified her that Bail was trying to call and Padmé excused herself.

Once back in her room she accepted his call, Bail’s face and torso coming into view.

“Hello Bail,” Padmé said.

“Good to see you, Padmé. Sorry for the sudden call.”

“It’s fine, you didn’t interrupt anything life-threateningly important.”

“Oh excellent.” Bail smiled at her. “I’m just calling to say you can send our friend on her way now, it should be safe. Tell her to come to Gamma Base. She’ll know where it is. I hope she hasn’t been too much of an imposition.”

“Can do, Bail. And no, she’s been a very unobtrusive guest, though her adamant assertion of my sainthood within the rebellion was a little unexpected.”

Bail laughed unrestrainedly, bursting out of him like a popped balloon.

“Did you know anything about this, Bail?”

He chuckled. “Know about it? Yes of course. You were a very prominent figure who was unafraid to voice her opinions and stand up for them. People respected you for that. It’s the sort of thing the rebellion is built upon.”

Padmé smiled and raised her eyebrow questioningly.

Bail huffed. “I never encouraged it. It happened on its own.”

Padmé gave him a disbelieving, “Mmmhmm.” Padmé paused, weighing her final decision. It had been an idea that had been bouncing around her mind for the last week and now was the moment. “Bail, please be honest with me; our guest thought that it would be good for morale if it was known I was alive. Do you agree?”

“I don’t doubt it. Where is this going, Padmé?”

“I was thinking of starting a bit of a myth. Begin a little rumour that my death was faked or, I don’t know, just start poking holes in Palpatine’s story.” Padmé suggested. “Obviously don’t give out any _real_ information but…”

“I see what you’re getting at,” Bail said thoughtfully. “Hmmm. What if…we turned you into some kind of mythical figure. A kind of word-of-mouth, folk hero. People see you on the edges of crowds, you’re said to help the rebellion, or are on a quest to shine the light of truth on the Empire and its corruption or something equally likely. We could make your ghost something to be afraid of…” Bail was quiet for a moment. “You know, it’s not a bad idea.”

“I’m just so kriffing sick of hiding. If people thinking I’m alive can bring positive change, then why not,” Padmé said. “Let’s do it.”

“If it’s what you want, then it's a tool I will happily use,” Bail said and nodded. “Also Padmé, my people have had no luck decoding the information Obi-Wan pulled from that Imperial Base around a year back on Aleen. Could you perhaps have a look at it?” Bail asked. “You also may have no luck, but some fresh eyes can only help.”

“Of course. Send it through.”

“Excellent.” Bail nodded again, and then looked off to the side where she couldn’t see. “Now I have to go. I’ll have someone send the document to you within the next day.”

“Thank you. Goodbye Bail.”

“Goodbye.”

Padmé went and found Yarro, once again holed up in Ahsoka’s room. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a holopad in her hands. Padmé leaned against the open door and knocked on the wood to get her attention.

Yarro looked up from the pad.

Padmé smiled. “I have word from the rebellion; you’re free to go on your way, Yarro.”

“Oh, good. Thank you.”

“Obviously you are welcome to stay until you have a lift off planet organised,” Padmé said. “Also i have a bit of a proposition for you.”

That piqued her interest. Yarro’s eyes lit and she placed the holopad on the bed beside her.

“I thought about what you told me about my…infamy as an icon in the rebellion. I then spoke to Bail and we thought we could use this and begin some rumours that I am less dead than the Empire reports.”

“Interesting,” Yarro said. “I assume you need someone to start spreading the word?”

“Yes.” Padmé then explained in careful detail what she and Bail wanted to do. Padmé made it very clear that it was to be rumour and myth and absolutely no basis in truth; she couldn’t give out any information that would lead the Empire here. Otherwise, Yarro was given some freedom as to what sort of rumour she wanted to spread; she saw Padmé on some planet, she ran into her at a Rebel base, Padmé came to her in a dream and told her some kind of truth. Whatever she felt would bolster the rebellion and worry the Empire most; she trusted Yarro's judgement on that. Padmé privately rather hoped it would get back to Sidious. She hoped it would infuriate him.

Yarro seemed very, very pleased with this task, and promised to keep the truth to herself while recruiting her fellow rebels to the ruse. Yarro ended up leaving a day later, catching a ride on a freighter heading back in towards the Core worlds.

* * *

A week after Yarro left saw Padmé groaning in frustration, reshuffling Leia on her lap after tossing her stylus on the table. “This is infuriating.”

Jesse looked over her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m _trying_ to decode this stupid document,” Padmé said, tapping the pad with a little more force than was necessary. “It’s proving rather difficult.”

There was a beat of silence before Jesse said, “Hey. That’s one of ours.” He pressed his finger to the line at the top of the page. “Weapons…Testing.”

Padmé’s head swivelled. “You can read it?”

“Yeah. It’s a cypher we rarely used. Top secret stuff from the Chancellor. Rex got it from Cody.”

Padmé let out a great sigh of relief, her head falling back over the chair for a moment. _Thank you, Gods_. “Can you teach it to me? That way I can help and we can sent it back to Bail and he can put other people on it as well.”

“Of course,” Jesse said as he sat down at the table. “I’ll help you decode it too.”

“You are an absolute Godsend, Jesse.”

Jesse then, in deep and thorough detail, walked her through the cypher as Padmé transcribed it onto her datapad. It was _ridiculously_ complicated and it was no wonder that Bail and all his rebels had been unable to figure it out in the past year.

About half an hour in, Rex came through the lounge room with Luke. Leia, evidently bored by Padmé’s work, hopped off her mother’s lap and trailed after them, Rex letting them know he was going to do some vaporator maintenance.

By the end, the text document she had written was ludicrously long. That done, she went in search of Artoo, finding him on his charging pad with Threepio, the two of them sniping at each other as usual. She gave Artoo the transcribed data needed to decode the information alongside a brief note to Bail which read; _A local operative recognised the code. Details in attached document. We will translate the first 10 pages, and leave your people the last 60-odd. Contact tomorrow._

Job done, she returned inside before she and Jesse actually started translating the kriffing text. It took hours and by the time she was past being done with it all, Padmé had only covered about 2 pages and Jesse had done 4…only another 4 to go.

Padmé sighed and dropped her head on the table.

“Given up?” Jesse asked with a laugh.

Padmé just groaned. “Brain hurts.”

“Fair enough, I’ve at least got the cypher in my head. It makes it a little easier.”

Padmé just hummed.

“You should take a break.”

He was probably right. She wasn’t going to get very far when the desire to bash her head against a wall was stronger than her desire to translate the damn thing.

It was definitely time to do something less taxing…also she was absolutely starving. Dinner it was then. She asked Jesse if he wanted to help, but he offered to keep translating, and really, that was more important, so she left him to it. She handed him some fruit and a plate of cheese before he took all the documents with him, claiming that he’d be able to concentrate easier in his room.

Padmé stood in the kitchen, hands on her hips, just thinking. Maybe she’d make some hubba bread. Her last attempt had been a bit dodgy, but Anakin had enjoyed it regardless, going on about how he’d loved it as a kid. She did a quick check and found a few hubba gourds in the pantry sitting beside a stack of tatos. A tato stew would go well with the bread. Done.

Course set, Padmé began with the bread. She boiled and pureed the gourds into a paste before unceremoniously tossing all the wet ingredients into a bowl. She mixed it all together before adding all the required dry ingredients and shoving her hands into the mixture. Padmé felt the tension leave her body as she got her hands dirty, carefully combining all the parts together. Between the spices and the visceral feeling of kneading, the headache that had been pressing at her eyes slowly receded and Padmé absently hummed a song her sister used to sing when she still lived on Naboo. That done, she prepared the tins, dumped the mixture in and popped them in the oven.

Right. Tato stew next. She found all the ingredients and deftly sliced them up. She then found an appropriately large pot (honestly, feeding so many people had become quite an issue recently) and went through all the obligatory steps. Padmé watched the spoon as she stirred—

—when she felt a hand move across the top of her shoulders, gently swiping her hair aside as a pair of lips were lightly pressed to the nape of her neck. Padmé hummed and leant her head to the side to let whichever gentleman it was have more access. It felt and smelled like Obi-Wan to her.

The kiss lingered for a moment longer before he stepped away.

“Padmé?” Obi-Wan asked from behind her.

“Yes?” Padmé turned, spoon in hand, leaning back against the counter.

Obi-Wan stood before her, his hands now tucked behind his back with a slight frown on his face. He looked worried.

“What is it, love?” Padmé pressed, putting the spoon down on the counter and stepping toward him.

He hesitated for a moment before he softly said, “I wanted to give you this,” and placed a silken piece of fabric in her hands.

Padmé looked at the item, carefully shaking it out to reveal a multicoloured shawl. It was a stunning mix of desert colours; rich golds and browns and muted greens in a random, swirling pattern. It felt amazing, soft and almost like water against her fingertips.

“Oh, thank you,” she said quietly, examining the gift. She rubbed her fingers over the silky texture. It was a beautiful piece of clothing—

“Oh!” she exclaimed suddenly, looking up at Obi-Wan with her heart thudding heavily in her chest. His eyes were staring at her hopefully. He couldn’t possibly mean… She desperately hoped he did. “Is this…? A courting item?”

Obi-Wan nodded nervously.

Padmé let out a joyous little squeak and threw herself at him. She tossed the shawl over his head and used it to leverage him down to her. Padmé pressed her lips to his, sliding her entire body up against him and trying to convey how utterly thrilled she was with just her mouth.

Obi-Wan responded in kind, kissing back with equal fervour. His hands caught at her waist, fingers tangling in her dress.

“Up,” Padmé whispered against his lips and gave no other warning when she leapt into his arms.

Obi-Wan moved instinctively, catching Padmé beneath her thighs, allowing her to wrap her legs about his hips and stay there. He stepped forward and Padmé felt herself be deposited on the bench, the cool counter pressing up against her warm skin. Padmé hummed her approval against his lips, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders behind his head, her limbs catching in the shawl.

Padmé’s heart felt like it could near explode. Gods, it felt like Obi-Wan was finally in the same place as her. He _finally_ understood what she wanted from him; she just wanted _him_.

“I fucking love you,” Padmé said fervently against his lips.

Obi-Wan laughed. “Well I should hope so. It would rather defeat the whole purpose of this exercise otherwise.” Padmé kissed him again before he continued with, “I love you, too.”

Padmé smiled. “I should hope so as well.”

Obi-Wan leant down and kissed the spot on her cheek, trailing kisses to her throat. Padmé let her eyes fall closed and run her hands through his short hair.

“Well this looks like fun,” came Anakin’s voice from beside them.

Padmé opened her eyes to look over at Anakin casually leaning against the other end of the counter, watching them with half-lidded eyes. Obi-Wan leaned back from her neck, smiling at Anakin.

“I didn’t realise you were home—Obi-Wan gave me a shawl,” Padmé said excitedly, tugging lightly at it.

Anakin nodded up at the shawl still draped around Obi-Wan’s head. “I can see that.”

“No, Anakin, he _gave me a shawl_ ,” Padmé repeated, heavily emphasising the last part.

He frowned for a moment, and Obi-Wan opened his mouth to explain when recognition shot through Anakin’s eyes. “Really?” he asked with wide, hopeful eyes, making a half step forward.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said softly, his gaze fixed on Anakin.

Padmé watched Anakin’s face crumple into mixed disbelief and joy. He stood absolutely stock still, hands fisted at his sides as he just stared at Obi-Wan. Padmé tapped Obi-Wan’s arm and he stepped back, giving her space to hop down from the counter, her feet lightly returning to the floor. She held out her hand to Anakin, which he took and allowed himself to be pulled closer.

Anakin stared at them a moment longer and then scowled. “I wanted to ask you myself eventually,” Anakin grumbled, his stance rigid, but his hand still resting in Padmé’s.

Obi-Wan frowned at him momentarily and then smiled. “Well, _technically speaking_ I’ve only said yes to Padmé, and assuming I understood her explanation of the custom, it’s an intent and not a definite yes at this point.”

Padmé nodded. He was correct, though to her it felt like Obi-Wan was going for more of a permanent yes. If it helped Anakin to think of it the other way, then she didn't mind at all. Personally she’d never even imagined Obi-Wan would respond to her advances. It had been more of a symbolic offer than anything else. That he’d taken her up on it was, well, wonderful.

Anakin nodded slowly, thinking. “Are you sure?” he asked.

Obi-Wan smiled. “Well, Padmé and I are still some ways off a full outfit, and I’d prefer such things to be Core-legal—”

Anakin looked thoughtful. “So you want to wait?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I would prefer that. It’s…this is definitely what I want, but I am hesitant to rush into it.”

“It’s a big step. We understand.” Padmé nodded and then smiled sharply. “Besides, we should have a long engagement if we want a reasonable average time between us.”

“Well,” Anakin began, “ _you_ can both have a long engagement. I’m going to wait on proposing because if you say yes to me I am _immediately_ dragging you to a officiant.”

Obi-Wan smiled warmly. “Alright, Anakin.”

After a long pause of Anakin staring at Obi-Wan intensely, he broke into quiet sobs, liquid pooling at the edges of his eyes and sliding down in cheek.

Obi-Wan smiled at him, wrapped a had around the back on his neck, and tugged Anakin until his face was pressed into Obi-Wan’s shoulder. Anakin wrapped his arms around the two of them and quietly cried into the fabric while Obi-Wan’s hand continued to absently stroke his hair. Padmé could only blink at the sudden swing in emotion.

“I never—” He lost himself again, smothering his face against Obi-Wan. A deep breath. “I never thought we could have this,” Anakin whispered, voice faintly hoarse and muffled against Obi-Wan’s chest. “I keep waiting for it to all—” a sob, “—all fall apart and go wrong. I keep _waiting._ ”

Padmé tightened her grip on his hand

“It’s okay, Ani. It’s okay you feel that way. Our lives have been balanced on a knife’s edge for so long, it’s completely understandable,” Padmé said softly.

Anakin turned to her, and leant forward to kiss Padmé just below her ear at the hinge of her jaw.

Suddenly Obi-Wan startled, looked at Anakin sharply and softly said, “Of course you deserve this. You deserve to be happy, dear one.”

Anakin just nodded, his head pressed against hers. Padmé could tell Anakin didn’t actually buy it, and Obi-Wan probably could as well, but Padmé hoped that if they kept telling him that, he’d eventually believe it.

Padmé kissed Anakin again and then stepped back from them both. She took hold of the shawl still draped over Obi-Wan, and carefully tied it around her waist with the majority of it facing backwards. She didn’t want to get it dirty, but she was also not about to abandon it. “Now, I need to get dinner finished or else the kids are going to get antsy. Do either of you two want to help? Or have you got other things to do?”

“I was going to go help Rex,” Obi-Wan said. “The twins were helping him check the vaporators. I thought I should start rounding them up and give Rex a break.”

“I’ll help with dinner,” Anakin said quietly, rubbing away the last of the tears from his cheek.

Padmé nodded and pointed Anakin at the stew. Obi-Wan nodded, kissed each of them again, and then vanished out the front door, Padmé noticing a little extra spring to his step. She smiled after him. What worried her was Anakin. She could totally believe that what he'd said was true, that he was waiting for everything to fall apart. What she didn’t understand was _why_.

“So what’s got you so on edge, Ani?” Padmé asked quietly.

“It’s just work,” Anakin replied slowly.

“You have been working a lot more lately. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, but it’s good. I’m just… tired, I suppose.”

There was something in his voice that worried her. Something that suggested that he wasn’t being completely truthful with her. Or was hiding something. It felt awful. Like a vice around her heart.

“Are you sure that’s all it is?”

Anakin frowned at her. “Of course.”

“You haven’t gotten yourself into some kind of trouble you’re not telling us about?” Padmé asked carefully, watching Anakin closely.

“No. I’m fine, I promise,” Anakin asserted and, okay, that sounded like the truth.

Padmé sighed.

“I swear, love. I’m not in any trouble.”

Padmé looked at him for a long time before she said, “Good. Let’s keep it that way, okay?”

He smiled. “Okay, I’ll do my best.”

Padmé let out a single pearl of laughter. “You’d better.”

They continued preparing dinner together, Padmé leaving Anakin to stir the stew while she set the table and sliced up the now cool bread.

“I’m glad Obi-Wan is seeing this as more permanent now,” Anakin said. He smiled into the pot as he stirred it slowly. “I never thought he’d be the one offering something more official though. I was certain we were going to have to corner him on that _much_ further down the road.”

Padmé laughed, feeling her eyes crinkle at the edges. “Yes, it was rather surprising. Good though.”

Anakin hummed in agreement and Padmé stole in close to Anakin, her right hip against his left. Her hand gently guided his chin so he was looking down at her, his blue eyes fixed on her.

“Why don’t we corner him later?” Padmé offered with a smile. “I had a thought the other day that I’d rather like to try. A little reward for being such a sensible, romantic sweetheart.”

Anakin raised a single eyebrow at her and smiled, his empty hand settling on her waist and leaning in until their noses brushed. “I think that can be arranged.”


	24. Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huzzah for university holidays! I somehow managed to smash out 18k of this MONSTER CHAPTER in a month. Feels good friends. And yup, this is easily the longest chapter thus far (and hopefully forever) but there were so many major plot points that needed to happen in order for the ending to come together that it ended up being stupidly long. Also I put in a bonus 4k of sexy times in the first scene because....reasons? (skip to the first page break for convenience if not interested in that :) )
> 
> Huge thanks and shout out to my beta Matlida_Nicki who continues to do a wonderful job of proofing this utter mess! Love your work! <3 And as always, I am happy for constructive criticism regardless :) 
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Obi-Wan was very pleased with himself. Padmé had enthusiastically accepted his semi-proposal and dinner had been a lovely occasion. Anakin had been pleased to discover the fresh bread and perked up from what had been worrying him. He and Padme seemed to have talked while he was out rescuing Rex from the twins, and given that Padme didn’t seem worried, he let it lie.

The three of them were now curled up in bed. Obi-Wan had ended up in the middle with Anakin and Padmé around him. Padmé was already curled up beneath the blankets, clearly asleep, while Anakin was half awake, lying quietly while staring up at the ceiling, apparently deep in thought. Obi-Wan was very warm and content and he could feel sleep beckoning him in. The light was still on on the table beside Anakin and Obi-Wan was just about to ask him to turn it off when he heard a shift on his right and then felt a weight on his hips. He looked up to find Padmé settled over him, her pale green sleeping gown falling from her shoulders to bunch at Obi-Wan’s hips. More noticeable was the shawl he had given her draped over her shoulders. She looked every inch the queen she had once been.

“Hello, love,” Padmé said through heavy eyes and a sharp smile.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were asleep; did you want something, dearest?” Obi-Wan asked, cupping her face in his right hand.

Padmé smiled, leaning into him. “Well we never really got to finish all that lovely kissing earlier because _someone_ ,” she shot a grin and a wink at Anakin, “decided to interrupt.”

Anakin smiled and sat up, shuffling closer and sitting up to kiss Padmé’s cheek, the blanket falling to gather about his waist. “I’m _terribly_ sorry.”

Obi-Wan was beginning to have the feeling that he was being set up.

Padmé smiled, tilted her head to the side and trailed her fingers down the front of his shirt, her fingernails catching on the fabric. She sighed and said, “Well this just won’t do,” before Obi-Wan’s long sleeping shirt was suddenly being pulled off by the pair of them.

Shirt gone, and now feeling very naked, Padmé ran both her hands up Obi-Wan’s torso, her head falling closer to his as she moved. “That’s better,” Padmé said breathily, her eyes roaming his form greedily.

Padmé leaned forward to rest her elbows on either side of Obi-Wan’s head, bringing her lips to his in a slow, searching kiss. Obi-Wan’s hands slid up from her legs along the side of her torso, feeling the fabric bunch as his fingers clutched at her waist. Padmé hummed happily into the kiss. She kept it slow and sensual, never letting Obi-Wan dictate the pace. His hands roved ceaselessly, enjoying the tantalising feeling of touching Padme through the thin gown she wore, his hands occasionally catching in the shawl. He lost his fingers in her hair for a while before sliding the length of her back, kneading and clutching at her skin.

Padmé suddenly changed tracks, lifting her mouth from his and then latching onto his collarbone, working her way along his neck while her hands were clutching at his hair to keep him _exactly_ where she wanted him. The sensations were exquisite; her soft mouth methodically working at his throat sent hot shivers through him. He was very much hoping this was leading somewhere. He was well and truly aroused and was rather hoping for more than just kissing. Eventually. Obi-Wan could live being worshipped like this for a little while longer.

Finally, Padmé sat back up, licking her lips as she surveyed him, shooting Anakin brief but clearly self-satisfied look. He suspected his neck was going to be embarrassingly mottled tomorrow.

“Happy?” Obi-Wan asked, his hand tracing beneath her jaw.

Padmé smiled. “Almost.”

There was a few moments of shuffling while Padmé lifted herself up and back along Obi-Wan’s torso. He inhaled sharply as her hand found his cock, Padmé smiling devilishly at him before giving it a firm stroke and repositioning herself over it. Padmé let all her weight fall onto Obi-Wan, trapping his cock between her warmth and his stomach. She was already hot and slick and Obi-Wan’s breath was caught in his throat; Padmé grinned back at him, all teeth and bright eyes. She tipped her head so that her hair cascaded over her shoulder in a way that must be illegal in several systems.

She was being a tease.

Padmé had a very sexual quality to her that had not been immediately apparent to Obi-Wan over the years he had known her; it was a side of her that was just for him and Anakin. The thought made him feel warm and his hand absently slid up her leg, slipping beneath the hem of her night-gown.

Padmé stared directly at Obi-Wan as she rocked against him, her eyes burning into his. She was slow and deliberate, her breath coming out in barely audible pants. Her eyes were slowly drawn to his roaming hand as it snaked up beneath her gown, revealing her soft thighs to his vision. When his fingers reached her hips, Padmé put her hand over his.

“May I?” she asked.

Obi-Wan nodded, not entirely trusting that his voice would work. His awareness of the world had entirely centred in on Padmé and how fucking incredible she felt and looked, taking up his entire consciousness. He basked in her glory.

Padmé took the lead, her fingers replacing his, slowly lifting the fabric higher while continuing to gently rock herself against him, drawing small, pleased sounds from the both of them. Obi-Wan’s hands gripped her still clothed sides and slid them up her body, following the curves of her form, his fingertips dragging heavily along her skin. Padmé let out a soft, desperate sigh, letting her eyes fall close for a moment, her focus on removing her clothes completely gone. She canted her hips, sending sparks of pleasure and desire all throughout Obi-Wan’s body. He desperately wanted to be inside her, feel her move around him and watch her lose herself to pleasure.

“You are an awful tease,” Obi-Wan said, voice low.

Padmé paused in her motions, her gown halted just above her belly button. She smiled at him. “Hmm, true. However, Ani and I have a little plan about tonight so would you be so kind as to go along with it? Obviously you can say no whenever.”

He had _absolutely_ been set up.

“I think I can do that.”

“Good boy,” Padmé said before she hurriedly pulled off her clothing, ripping it from her body and tossing the gown and the shawl off the edge of the bed. “That’s better. Don’t want to ruin them.”

“Just you?” Obi-Wan asked with a smile.

“Ohhhh, yes,” Padmé agreed breathlessly. “Now you let me lead.”

He laughed. “I’m fairly certain I already was.”

“You’ve been doing an amazing job,” came Anakin’s low voice beside them.

Obi-Wan turned his head to smiled at him. “So glad you think so.” Anakin grinned back, eyes dark, curled up beside Obi-Wan and watching the pair of them unblinkingly.

“Eyes up here, lovely,” Padmé said, her fingertips gently coaxing his chin back up to face her.  “We have unfinished business.”

Padmé was still settled happily on his cock and watching him like a hook hawk watches a small, tasty morsel. She was now completely naked, her pearly skin dusted with pink around her breasts and shoulders.

She picked up where she had left off, canting her hips against Obi-Wan’s, his cock appearing and vanishing beneath her. Her body moved with serpentine grace, shifting and undulating in smooth, intoxicating movements. He felt like he was set aflame in her presence. Touching her was like touching fire.

Obi-Wan slid one of his hands to grip her waist in a feeble attempt to control her, while the other made its way up her stomach to palm one of her breasts. She let her hair fall back and let out a long breath of air as he explored her body. Padmé allowed it for a moment longer before she moved, leaning down and resting her hands beside his head again, still rubbing against him. Then she kissed him; slow at first, teasing _again,_ before she turned her teeth on him and nipped at his lips before soothing them again with more gentle attentions.

Reaching the end of his rope, Obi-Wan fought back. He gripped her waist with both hands, kneading the soft body beneath them, hopelessly searching for purchase or control. She moaned into his mouth, falling further forward so she was only held up by her elbows while her fingers scratched at the skin on his head, sending hot embers burning through him.

Padmé was panting softly now, matching his erratic breaths; his air supply fixed to the will of her movements and her warmth. Kriffing hells he was going to come soon if she didn’t stop what she was doing. She was an utter vision above him: open mouthed, pink lipped, with hair messy and wild like a spirit as it cascaded over the both of them. Her skin was red where he had gripped her, splotches of colour painted on her skin.

He felt it all so vividly. Obi-Wan loved her deeply and he wanted to drown in her and be left gasping for air.

“Padmé, I can’t—” he began.

“Yes, darling,” Padmé whispered, not letting up for a moment. “Come for me.”

He could never resist her.

Obi-Wan’s eyes fluttered, torn between falling open-armed into his pleasure and drinking in every inch of Padmé’s utter glory. His hands scrabbled at her thighs, as he sucked air into his lungs, absently pleased at how she seemed to only just be holding herself together. She rocked herself against him through the last of his orgasm, smiling beatifically all the while. She stroked her hands through his hair, gently peppering his face with kisses while he caught his breath. The sensations were glorious, adding to the warm pleasure he still felt. When she apparently deemed him cognisant of the world again, Padmé sat up, winked at him, and then slid from his lap, moving to sit beside him.

Obi-Wan sat up, fully intending to pursue her—ready to pin her beneath him and bury his face between her legs until he made her scream—when Anakin’s lips found his, and hands came up to cup Obi-Wan’s face.

“Nuh-uh, my turn,” Anakin said against his mouth, his voice utterly wrecked .

Obi-Wan kissed him back. It was a hot, fevered thing, with far more teeth than necessary, but Padmé had worked him up so thoroughly and he _wanted._ Obi-Wan nipped at Anakin’s lips and growled something filthy into his mouth. Anakin moaned loudly and he curled closer into Obi-Wan.

“Shush, Ani,” Padmé said, smiling. “We don’t want to disturb Kix.”

Anakin huffed and tossed her a look.

Well that wouldn’t do. Obi-Wan wrapped his hand around the back of Anakin’s neck and curled into his hair, pulling Anakin back down. He kissed and mouthed at Anakin’s chin, working his way back to his lips before slipping his tongue into his mouth and focusing Anakin back on him. Anakin came willingly, eyes closed and pliant under his hands. He had half crawled on top of Obi-Wan, their chests pressed together and Obi-Wan felt a warm hand slide down his left flank, just exploring.

Obi-Wan let out a loud exhale and tightened his grip on Anakin’s hair.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan began, but was interrupted when he suddenly had a proper lapful of Anakin, completely naked and beautiful, beaming down at him.

“I was certain you had pants on when we got into bed,” Obi-Wan noted, his hands running up and down’s Anakin’s thighs.

Anakin closed his eyes and hummed, his hands coming to rest over Obi-Wan’s. “Mmmm. I did. I seem to have lost them.”

“Come now Ani, why don’t you show him the surprise we prepared?”

Anakin smiled brightly, nodding, his eyes still dark and half-lidded. Anakin reshuffled them for a moment, following in Padme’s footsteps and getting his hands on Obi-Wan’s once again interested cock. He picked up on where Anakin as going with this only a moment before. Obi-Wan made to tell him to stop, to wait, when Anakin lowered himself down, eyes fluttering, but Obi-Wan sunk into him with very little resistance. Oh sweet Force that was good.

“We may have had some fun before you arrived,” Padmé said beside his ear.

Well that explained what the pair of them had been up to in here while Obi-Wan had read a book to the twins before bed.

Obi-Wan was finding it difficult to care though.

Anakin groaned and let his head fall forward, his hair curtaining forward and brushing against Obi-Wan’s stomach. Obi-Wan reached up to card his fingers through it and then tucked a portion of it behind Anakin’s ear. His chest was suffused with warmth, a heady concoction of love and desire, and it only doubled to see the way Anakin was staring at him. Eyes dark, fixed on Obi-Wan, with his mouth slightly parted. Obi-Wan licked his own lips and watched his hand travel from Anakin’s ear to sweep along his bottom lip. Anakin's tongue briefly darted out, before he smiled and leaned forward a tiny bit to pull them into his mouth.

“Sith hells, Anakin,” Obi-Wan breathed as he watched Anakin lightly suck on his fingers before scraping his teeth over them as he pulled away.

Anakin was grinning like a loth-cat. Padmé was making a contented humming noise as she slid up beside Obi-Wan, her body pressed against his and rested her head beside Obi-Wan’s shoulder, staring up at Anakin.

“You look stunning, Ani,” Padmé said quietly.

At that, Anakin began moving his hips, slowly at first, in a determined up-and-down motion as he fucked himself on Obi-Wan.

“Slowly, Ani,” Padmé said softly, her hand coming to rest on her husband’s hip, fingers curling possessively into his skin. “No rushing.”

Anakin pouted at her.

Padmé laughed and her eyelashes kissed the skin of Obi-Wan’s shoulder like tiny butterflies. “Stick to the plan, sweetheart.”

“Fine,” Anakin mumbled and slowed his rhythm.

“You’re both awful,” Obi-Wan said with no real heat. He was having a lovely time thus far and felt incredibly loved and pampered. Evidently, he should propose marriage more often if this was the treatment it got him.

Anakin just grinned wickedly at him, carefully and methodically riding Obi-Wan’s cock. Obi-Wan was unable to resist touching Anakin, his hands roving on whatever skin they could reach, once pulling Anakin’s left hand to his mouth and kissing it until Anakin was laughing at the sensations, his cheeks dusted with pink.

Suddenly Padmé sat up and kissed at Anakin’s lips, her hands gripping his hair. Anakin stilled in Obi-Wan’s lap and kissed her back fervently, his whole body leaning towards her and gripping her waist like a flower trying to drink in the sun’s rays.

“Shall we give Obi-Wan a show then if you’re so set on your plan?” Anakin asked.

Padmé let out a muted laugh and whispered, “Fuck yes.”

There was a funny little period of rearrangement. Obi-Wan watched in quiet amusement as Padmé straddled him again in front of Anakin, seemed to misjudge herself and almost fall over the other way. Anakin laughed, catching her deftly and righting her before him.

“Okay?” Anakin asked.

“Shut it,” Padmé bit back, grinning and twisting to give him a quick peck on the lips. “Just _please_ get in me already. As much as this has been a great plan—hooray for us, we did it—I am _dying_ here Ani. We did _too_ good a job.”

Obi-Wan was grinning widely at this point.

“As you wish, my angel,” Anakin said softly, placing another kiss to her lips.

Another moment of shuffling later, and Obi-Wan felt Anakin settle into a firm seat on his cock and then watched as Padmé pressed her back up against her husband’s front and sank down onto his erection.

Anakin’s left arm wrapped around her waist, his palm pressed against her lower abdomen and his right curled beneath her arm to rest his other hand on her clavicle, gripping the junction between neck and shoulder just so. In another life and another situation, the hold could have looked like violence. Here it looked like adoration and two people who were inextricably intertwined with one another. Padmé sighed into the embrace, letting her head fall back onto Anakin’s shoulder.

Anakin nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck beside his hand, Padmé arching her whole body in such a way that he had more to work with. Force they were breathtaking and Obi-Wan had a short moment of wondering how the absolute kriffing fuck they had all gotten here.

He watched, hot all over and reluctant to blink, as they moved together. Anakin barely moved, torturously still around him, as Padmé flexed her thigh muscles, rising and falling gracefully onto Anakin’s cock, his hands purposefully guiding and supporting her. He could hear Padmé’s little breathless cries as they escaped her mouth, lips just parted. They moved with practiced skill, years of loving each other like this showing in every tiny gesture; the way Anakin wrapped himself around her, all but inhaling her, while Padmé let herself give way to her desires, melting into Anakin.

It was beautiful.

It was torture in the best possible way.

And it almost felt as though he was intruding.

As if sensing the thought, both Padmé and Anakin turned their stares on him…and okay, definitely not intruding. Both watched him with hot, molten stares, Padmé grinning at him while sliding her hand backwards to finger at Anakin’s hair, shamelessly showing herself off. Obi-Wan decided he was done watching and let his hands freely participate instead of clinging to the sheets beneath him. Anakin held her tightly, letting Padmé lose herself. Her moaning quickly became louder and less coherent as she rose and fell onto him. Obi-Wan gripped her thighs with desperate hands, his blunt nails scratching lightly at the skin. Padmé’s hands dropped from Anakin and came to cover his, guiding them over her body, encouraging him to touch her.

A few moments more and Padmé’s mouth fell open in a long, stuttering exhale of breath and a long whine, her eyes squeezing shut and her hands gripping Obi-Wan’s tightly as she shook through her orgasm. Anakin eventually stilled and lost his face in the hair beside her ear, whispering something Obi-Wan couldn’t catch. Padmé smiled, her eyes still closed and breathing heavily.

Boneless and very happy, Padmé extracted herself from Anakin and rolled carelessly to lie beside Obi-Wan.

“Obi, my love, my darling,” Padmé said softly beside his ear. “You’ve been so good.” She kissed his cheek. “You are now officially free to do whatever you want with Anakin.”

He surged upward immediately, his hands coming up around Anakin’s face, pulling them together. Anakin laughed, falling backwards a short way before he quickly wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan’s shoulders.

“Eager, Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked with a grin.

Obi-Wan caught his mouth in a hot kiss. “You two have done nothing but work me up. I’m going to make you see stars,” he promised darkly.

Anakin’s eyes went black and his breathing faltered. “ _Please_.”

His hand gripped Anakin’s hair, tipping him back and burying his face in Anakin’s neck and mouthing at the skin. He could feel a faint rumble from Anakin in his lips, as he hummed happily in pleasure, Anakin’s hands gripping his shoulders tightly. Obi-Wan was beyond worked up, and desperate for Anakin.

Slowly, his hands slipped from Anakin’s hair, working down his back before grasping his hips possessively. He moved to kiss Anakin on the mouth, drinking down the helpless moans Obi-Wan was wringing from his partner. Obi-Wan held his hips in place for a short time longer, allowing them to mouth at each others skin and lips, Anakin muttering professions of love and pleas for more into his mouth.

“Move for me,” Obi-Wan muttered, his hands gently coaxing Anakin’s hips still settled in his lap.

Anakin blinked slowly, a smile spreading across his face. “I can do that. Let me in?” Anakin leaned his forehead against Obi-Wan’s.

They didn’t always do this (though to be fair, most of the time they only had minimal walls between them for privacy); completely lowering their shields generally left Anakin a little loopy afterwards given that he didn’t seem to have the sense or desire to draw back from the mind-blowing feeling of two orgasms. But...it made him happy and didn’t hurt him, so Obi-Wan didn’t worry too much about it. Besides, he _adored_ knowing exactly how Anakin felt about him, how much he desired him, and how he welcomed that deep well of _possession_ that Obi-Wan felt for the two of them. He was still struggling to parse that particular feeling, but both Padmé and Anakin seemed to love it, so again he tried not to worry. Right now he burned to feel Anakin in his mind, and swiftly dropped all shields.

Anakin reacted immediately; his eyes fluttered closed and his grip on Obi-Wan increased. Anakin also did as suggested, rocking the two of them together as best he could in this position. It was good; hot and intense, the pleasure and affection coming from both of them melting through his core.

Obi-Wan wanted to turn them over, pressing the thought at Anakin as warning moments before, Anakin responding with a fuzzy mesh of _agreement—desperation—love._ They rolled so that Anakin was beneath him, his legs wrapped around Obi-Wan’s waist and his head thrown back on the sheets. His long golden hair surrounded his head, fanning out in an irregular circle. He looked like a god. Obi-Wan watched a giddy smile pass over Anakin’s face as that thought reached him, before Anakin was pulling him down to his lips. He could feel how fucking close and hot and overwhelmed Anakin was through their bond, both of them still simmering with desire after the little demonstration that Anakin and Padme had so deftly pulled off.

Obi-Wan kissed him like the world was ending, feverish and desperate, as they both pawed at each other. Losing his grip, Obi-Wan resorted to just pressing their foreheads together and leaving kisses on whatever part of Anakin’s face he could reach. Anakin’s fingers wound through his hair, his whole body arching into his partner as Obi-Wan thrust into him.

They didn’t last much longer.

Anakin was vibrant against his senses. Dripping in love and pleasure and stunningly beautiful beneath him. It came upon him rather suddenly with Anakin whispering, “Come on, please, I fucking love you, _please,”_ and he was done.

Everything went white hot.

He was absently aware of Anakin moaning against his skin. Just aware enough of pinpricks of pain-pleasure where Anakin’s nails were dug into his skin. He was half-certain he himself had stopped breathing for a while.

Slowly, they came down from the stars and Obi-Wan found himself draped over Anakin, his face buried in his neck while Anakin’s fingers played with his hair.

“Hello, beautiful,” Obi-Wan muttered, pushing himself up to look at the young lover.

Anakin smiled lazily. “Hello yourself.”

Obi-Wan leant down to kiss him before rolling off him to stare at the ceiling, processing what an incredible experience that had been. He heard Padmé shift on his other side and he turned his head to look at her.

Padmé was gazing at them with a lazy smile. “I love it when you two do that. I can practically _feel_ it in the air.” She crawled toward them and folded her body to Obi-Wan’s. She threw a leg over his and a hand over his torso to touch Anakin on his other side.

Obi-Wan turned his head and pressed his face into her hair, leaving a kiss at the crown of her head.

“So, round two?” Padmé asked brightly.

Obi-Wan laughed. They were going to be the death of him.

* * *

Time passed in the usual fashion. Kix went to the clinic everyday and Anakin’s work continued to increase and he was gone most days. On an equally erratic timetable, Padmé and Obi-Wan did odd-jobs from home for Bail, while Rex and Jesse killed time relaxing and training, waiting for Ahsoka to take them off to the rebellion.

Although all three clones continued to settle into their new lives, there eventually came a tipping point. It started with Jesse waking in the night, screaming, and then seemed to spread, almost like a contagion to the other two. Obi-Wan had checked in with Kix after a few days and he had assured Obi-Wan that between his medical knowledge and the close bond the three of them shared, that they had it under control. Obi-Wan trusted Kix and left him to it, but still offered to help in any way if they needed it. Kix had smiled and said he would. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme still kept tabs on the situation and offered whoever needed it an ear or a distraction. Sometimes the ex-soldiers took them up on it, sometimes they didn’t. Eventually the worst of it settled, though all of them could see that it wasn’t gone but it was merely managed. They all managed, as they always had.

Then, as with each year before, Barada showed up with an entourage of thugs a few weeks before the twins’ life day. This year’s exchange passed without incident, Anakin quickly handing over the required bribe, making minimal small talk about how the Boonta Eve Classic was just around the corner again, before they sent Jabba’s goons back on their way. Anakin had been keyed up up for the rest of the day, clearly thinking about the year before, intermittently throwing Obi-Wan longing stares.

Ahsoka returned home only a week before the twins’ life day, cutting it unusually close. Everyone was very excited to see her, especially the twins, and even more so when they realised that she’d brought them presents. For Leia she’d brought a more advanced children’s novel for her to read, while she’d gotten Luke a book full of pictures from different planets.

On the twins’ third life day, they again had a little party. Luke and Leia had a great time and spent a overstimulated afternoon playing with and reading all of the gifts they’d been given. Luke spent most of his time levitating the wooden model LAAT the clones had made, complete with a piece of artwork painted on the side, and Leia had been particularly excited by the beautiful blue dress Padmé had made her, flouncing around in it for the whole day. Once the children were in bed, the adults let their hair down a little more. Kix and Anakin had slowly built up a small stash of alcohol as thank-you’s and payments from clients, so the seven of them broke into a few of the bottles. Threepio was pleased to have the job of serving drinks again. He noted several times how lovely and civilised it all was while Artoo was out of earshot and downstairs helping put the twins to sleep with his holograms.

Obi-Wan ended up laying across the couch, Anakin tucked up under his arm and Padmé tangled in his legs. Between the body heat and the wine, he was very cozy. Ahsoka and Rex were on the other couch, the pair of them sitting opposite one another with their feet in the middle, while Kix and Jesse were at the dining table playing a game of sabbac with a small cache of tezirett seeds as betting chips. As far as Obi-Wan could tell it was fairly evenly matched, but given that Jesse was a good two glasses ahead of Kix, he didn’t think that was going to last.

Anakin was quietly muttering some ideas in his ear about optimising their vaporators to maximise power efficiency and up their water intake. Half of it went over his head, his mind predominantly zeroing in on the quiet, soothing quality of Anakin’s voice in his ear. He was also at least eighty percent sure that Padmé had fallen asleep. Obi-Wan’s hand was gently settled in Anakin’s, occasionally running his fingertips up Anakin’s own calloused ones.

“Rex you should grow your hair,” Ahsoka said suddenly, breaking Obi-Wan out of the soft space his head had been settled in. “You don’t have to wear a helmet anymore. You could be a beautiful blond desert babe.”

Rex raised his eyebrows in a somewhat horrified expression. “Okay, first of all, never call me that again. Secondly; I had considered it.”

Ahsoka grinned widely, clearly a few too many cups deep. “Rex, yes! You should!”

There was a beat of silence. “What if it’s terrible?”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “Then cut it off again. Easy. Also, imagine how much Luke and Leia would _love_ to plait it for you.”

“I’m not sure that’s a plus,” Rex replied and Obi-Wan felt himself smile.

“Hey!” Anakin said sharply, a grin on his lips and pulling himself up a ways from Obi-Wan. “Are you suggesting my kids are not galaxy-class hair stylists?”

Rex laughed. “Yeah, I am. I’ve seen your face when you let Luke brush your hair. Nothing is worth that kind of pain.”

Anakin shrugged and smiled back at him. “Leia _is_ very good at plaits though.”

“Fuck yeah,” came a muffled call from Padmé. “Trained her well.”

“REX!” Ahsoka suddenly gasped. “What about a beard though? Imagine! Great big bushy bearded Rex!”

“Okay, when are we cutting her off?” Rex asked, giving her foot a kick with his own.

“Come on, Rex,” Kix called from the table, “why not grow a stupid-ass beard, you big old grandpa.”

Rex twisted in his seat. “Oh, are we starting this again, lightning bolt boy?”

A single pearl of laughter burst out of Jesse, immediately silenced by a stern look from Kix. It did not however stop Jesse from smiling stupidly.

“You wanna go?” Kix asked standing up from the table, eyes bright and teeth bared.

“Race you to the last vaporator and back!” Rex yelled and both of them dashed for the front door.

Ahsoka and Jesse sprang from their chairs, swiftly following behind them. Anakin then wriggled from Obi-wan’s embrace and then turned to them. “Come on,” he urged, pulling on each of their hands. Obi-Wan came up easily, whereas Padmé groaned as she was pulled up and fell forward onto Anakin’s chest, mumbling something against his shirt.

They all followed the group outside and Obi-Wan watched as Kix and Rex sprinted across the yard. He laughed as Rex tried to trip Kix, throwing out an arm as they whipped around the final vaporator, but Kix deftly manoeuvred around it as they came tearing back toward the house.

Padmé was still blearily sandwiched up against Anakin, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her waist. Her eyes were only barely open, but she was clearly doing her best to watch the race. She’d spent most of the morning reading through some very heavy material from Bail and it had clearly taken a lot out of her.

Just as they were nearing the finish, Kix did the exact same thing Rex had done; suddenly throwing out his arm, pausing for a moment, and clotheslining Rex. Rex made the sound of someone who’d just had all the air punched from their lungs as he hit the ground, Kix laughed like a maniac, then resumed his sprint to the finish. Obi-Wan found himself smiling at the whole spectacle.

“Go Kix!” Ahsoka yelled, waving enthusiastically.

Jesse shoved her companionably. “Rex, get up! You can still make it.”

Rex pushed himself up from the ground in a swirl of sand and did his utmost to catch Kix, but had lost too much ground.

Kix skidded to a halt beside the five spectators, a very satisfied grin on his lips. He turned just in time to see Rex barrel into him and send the pair sprawling onto the sand.

Obi-Wan and the others burst into drunken laughter and watched as Rex wrestled his brother down before grabbing two handfuls of sand and shoving it down his shirt. Dignity restored, Rex scurried back and stood up, escaping his brother’s reach.

“You’re such a fucking cheater,” Rex complained, punching his brother affectionately on the arm when he was standing up again, and grinned as he watched Kix shake out the last of the sand from his clothes.

“You started it, and I still won,” Kix said proudly, chest rising and falling quickly. “You gotta grow your hair now.”

“Kriff,” Rex swore, still grinning. “Fine.”

“Hells yes!” Ahsoka exclaimed and violently high-fived Kix, the slap sounding loudly across the silent desert. Jesse let out an excited whoop and rubbed his hand vigorously over Rex’s shaved blond fuzz.

That settled, they all returned inside. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padmé ended up heading off to bed, given that Padmé was basically asleep on Anakin already, and left their younger housemates to continue in their revelry.

* * *

The Boonta Eve Classic was in full swing and Ahsoka was delighted to get to race again. As with the year before, Padmé stayed home with the twins and Obi-Wan accompanied Anakin as moral support. However this year, Jesse, Kix, and Rex came along to cheer on Ahsoka as well. All of them looked utterly ridiculous in their attempts to disguise themselves and not appear like three historically famous Jedi with some of their troops.

Anakin and Ahsoka were sensibly in big, heavyset goggles again since they both needed to be able to see. Obi-Wan had been particularly lazy and just found a spare square of fabric and wrapped it about his neck and over his mouth and nose, before cinching it with a hat. Jesse looked very similar to him, scarf and hat covering any distinguishing features, but instead of the muted browns that Obi-Wan wore, he was draped in around five different shades of blue. Rex was in all loose, draped fabrics from head to toe, making him look rather like a desert spirit from a distance and a pile of sheets close up. Kix wore a wide brimmed hat but didn’t bother with anything else; the locals knew him anyway and he thought the disguise would be pointless. He’d also arrived separately from the others on his swoop bike, having had a couple of patients to check in with before the race started.

All six of them stood clustered around the pod. Anakin running his eyes and hands over every inch of the pod, periodically asking for tools or parts. Obi-Wan handed him a large wrench and watched Anakin obsessively tighten another bolt. Rex and Jesse excitedly watched what Anakin was doing while chatting to Ahsoka. Kix had taken himself off some time ago.

“It’s nice having a pit crew,” Anakin said, speaking to the pod. “Much easier to get work done.”

Ahsoka grinned at him. “I’m fairly certain that _you_ are _my_ pit crew, Skyguy.”

“What, Obi-Wan not doing it for you?” Anakin replied, tucking the wrench beneath his arm and fiddling with something with his hands.

“I don't think either of you want to trust me with that,” Obi-Wan said.

“Rex—toss me that cap by your arm?”

Rex grabbed it and threw it to Anakin who caught it without looking. Obi-Wan felt himself sigh. Unnoticed, Anakin attached the cap, messed with it some more, and then stood back, apparently satisfied.

“Okay, final checks, Snips.”

Ahsoka nodded, climbed into the pod and began turning on all the switches. They ran through checks together, Anakin calling out various tests and Ahsoka doing as told, systematically double-checking all systems.

“Okay, we’re good. Take ten, team,” Anakin said.

“So think I’m going to win this year?” Ahsoka asked, drawing Obi-Wan’s attention.

Obi-Wan smiled. “Depends. Do you think you can take on that wookiee?”

“I can only try.”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Ahsoka laughed. “The pod’s been running amazingly recently so I’m not so worried about it, just my piloting. I’m definitely out of practice. Who knew how good war was for becoming a kick-ass pilot, hey?”

“Can’t say I miss it though.”

Ahsoka sighed. “Me neither.” She nodded her head towards where Rex and Jesse were looking between pods chatting animatedly. “They seem pretty good?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Most of the time they're very happy. Some of it seems to have hit them now that they’ve stopped running and settled. The three of them support each other through it so it’s under control. Kix definitely seems to love what he’s doing.”

Ahsoka nodded. “I feel kind of bad dragging them back out into the thick of it,” she admitted quietly.

“You know they volunteered.”

“Yeah…but what if they’re only volunteering to fight because they don’t know how to do anything else?” Ahsoka asked. “Or because they feel like I’m still in charge of them?”

“I think they’d both tell you where to shove that thought.”

Ahsoka smiled. “I suppose.”

“If you’re so worried, you should talk to them.” Obi-Wan said.

“Master Kenobi, you’re not suggesting _communication_ are you?”

He smiled. “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

“What a twist.”

Obi-Wan turned to drag Anakin into the conversation but suddenly found he wasn’t with them. Obi-Wan turned slowly, eyes scanning the crowd and extending a faint tendril of awareness into the Force. A spark of recognition lit his mind as his eyes fell on a half covered face with long wisps of golden blonde hair fluttering in the light breeze.

He watched Anakin talk to a human woman he didn’t recognise. The pair of them stood right next to each other, speaking in what looked like a close whisper. Whatever they were talking about seemed very serious, Anakin mouth set in a line that screamed ‘worried’ to Obi-Wan. The woman must have a very serious mechanical issue for it to get to Anakin so concerned.

“Major mechanical problem?” Obi-Wan asked when Anakin returned to their pod.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Anakin said absently, not quite meeting his eyes.

Obi-Wan frowned, confused. “Is everything alright?” he asked, his hand hesitantly resting on Anakin’s shoulder.

“Yeah. Sorry. Just thinking about what I’m going to do about it,” Anakin said, smiling up at him properly this time and catching his hand in the air. “All fine.”

A loud horn sounded and a cheer went up in the crowd derailing the conversation. Race time.

“Time to get off the track,” Anakin said, gripping Obi-Wan’s hand with his left and snagging his tool box with his right. “Good luck, Snips!” Anakin called and then dragged Obi-Wan off the track, Obi-Wan yelling back his encouragement as they headed to the side. The three clones trailed behind them after also wishing Ahsoka the best.

The five of them stood to the side, watching Ahsoka and all the other racers completely power up their pods and rev their engines. Ahsoka tossed them a final jaunty salute before focusing on her pod.

Obi-Wan kept his grip on Anakin’s hand.

He hoped Ahsoka would come out of this safe.

They watched in anticipation as Jabba did his usual appearance and declaring the race to start. The first light blinked on and all the pods flew across the starting line. Rex let out an over excited whoop and jumped a short ways into the air. They watched on the screens as Ahsoka shot forward into first place, the pod flying effortlessly above the ground. Anakin cheered and tightened his grip on Obi-Wan’s hand who also found himself grinning widely. The group raced along the flat, one pod suffering some kind of critical failure and bursting into flames.

When they vanished into the cave system everyone waited with bated breath to see who would and would not come out the other side. Three pods emerged before Ahsoka’s did, the bright blue paint making her easy to identify. They flew through the starting line again, Obi-Wan quickly bringing his arm to his face to cover his eyes as the fleet of pods whipped up every grain of sand around them. A few moments later he was able to see again. Ahsoka had made it back up into second place.

It was halfway round the second lap that things started to go south. He finally noticed the racer in fifth position working their way forward, systematically harassing the pods in front of them. Obi-Wan wasn't entirely sure what the driver was doing, but they were executing a thorough job of driving other racers off the ideal part of the track or damaging their pods.

He watched in muted worry, Obi-Wan’s hand death-gripping Anakin’s, as the racer worked their way closer to Ahsoka. They caught up to Ahsoka after exiting the cave system, zooming up beside her before was some kind of altercation between the two pods, the other racer ramming up against Ahsoka violently, sending her pod shuddering to the side. Ahsoka, not one to just take that sort of treatment, immediately returned to the fray, jostling the other pod. They shoved Ahsoka again. Then _something_ happened. One of the pods of Ahsoka’s racer detached itself at the contact point.

Obi-Wan inhaled sharply and watched the pod break apart and violently smash into the sand. A loud, “Oooooooh,” came from the crowd as it happened before the cameras cut to another part of the race, not worried about the potential death of some random racer.

Anakin’s head whipped around to stare out at the desert, just able to see the plume of smoke from where they stood.

“Is she okay?” Obi-Wan whispered.

“She’s definitely alive. That’s all I can tell,” Anakin replied.

Obi-Wan sighed in relief.

They had to wait for the race to be over to go get her. All of them stared out at the desert toward where they knew Ahsoka was, far less interested in the outcome now.

They organised between them for Anakin and Obi-Wan to hurry on Kix’s swoop to check on Ahsoka the minute the race was over and have the other three catch up in the speeder as soon as they could.

The jerk who had crashed Ahsoka, who was revealed to be a Theronian, ended up winning and Obi-Wan felt personally offended on Ahsoka’s behalf. The Wookiee who had won the past two years came in a disappointing fourth. The moment the final racer crossed the line, Anakin and Obi-Wan dashed to where Kix had told them his bike was. Obi-Wan jumped on behind Anakin, and the two of them drove to the site of the crash.

“Are you alright?” Obi-Wan asked, hurling himself off the bike, his eyes roaming over Ahsoka. She was sitting on the ground a few feet from the wreck, a frustrated frown gracing her forehead. He couldn’t see anything majorly wrong and she was holding herself and moving just fine.

“Hah, Anakin taught me how to survive _any_ crash,” Ahsoka scoffed. “I’m sore and bruised for sure, but otherwise I’m fine.”

“Excellent,” Anakin said. “The crash looked pretty wild on the cameras.”

“Ugh, it was bantha-poodoo,” Ahsoka grumbled, kicking at the ground. “He fucking cheated.”

“No such thing on Tatooine. You win or you don’t,” Anakin said simply. “Welcome to Hutt Space.”

Ahsoka sighed. “At least the pod is salvageable.”

“Don’t worry about the pod,” Anakin said. “I’m just happy you’re okay.”

Ahsoka smiled at him. “Well, we should nab the parts that aren’t totally wrecked anyway.”

Anakin nodded in agreement and the pair of them began digging through the wreckage of the racer, Obi-Wan doing his best to help but really didn’t understand the logistics of the thing and wasn’t proving to be much of a help. He knew ships and everyday vehicles sure, but specialised racing pods? Not so much. Soon after, Kix, Rex and Jesse turned up with the speeder, congratulating Ahsoka on a truly spectacular crash. Ahsoka grinned at them, taking the ribbing well and dragging Rex and Jesse into helping pull apart the pod. It took a couple of hours but once the job was done and all rescued parts were piled into the back of the speeder, they went home.

Ahsoka ended up staying for another fortnight before she moved on. This time though she took Jesse, Rex, and Artoo with her. She promised to be home as often as possible, but given her track record over the past year, Obi-Wan wasn’t optimistic. It did reassure him that Rex and Jesse had her back now.

He worried about her.

* * *

Obi-Wan sat on the couch with Luke in his lap and a holo-pad in front of them. Initially they’d been looking at the most recent reports from Bail, but then Luke had somehow pushed him onto a path of looking at holos of different planets, which then ended up with them looking at different animal species. Luke had decided he wanted to meet and talk to a kiros bird.

“So pretty,” Luke cooed, his little fingers stroking the picture on the screen. “I love them.”

Obi-Wan asked, “More than banthas?”

Luke took this question very seriously, scrunching up his nose thoughtfully and staring resolutely at the picture. “No. I love banthas morest.”

“Most, Luke. You love them the most.”

“The most,” Luke echoed thoughtfully, then; “Bantha’s are soft’nd my friend.”

“Obi?” Padmé yelled, standing at the top of the stairs before her eyes fell on where he was sitting “Oh, sorry. Clearly didn’t need to yell; Bail wants to talk to the three of us. Can you drag Ani in while I get the connection working?”

“Of course.”

Padmé gave him a thumbs up and then vanished down the stairwell.

“Come on, Luke,” Obi-Wan said, giving Luke a gentle nudge on his back. "Let’s go find Leia and your Dad.”

“Okay,” Luke agreed, scrambling from his lap and then turning to look at Obi-Wan expectantly. “I wanna show Leia the pretty bird. Can I?”

Obi-Wan stood up and placed the pad on the table. “Yes, but your Mum and Dad and I have to talk to Bail first. Do you think you can remind me later?’

Luke sighed. “Yeah.” He then perked up a little, as if realising something. “I can draw her one.”

“That sounds good.”

Luke held out his hand expectantly. Obi-Wan took it and they went in search of the others.

The suns were high and hot in they sky, just at the angle that Obi-Wan felt would burn his eyes of he starred in one place for too long.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan called, staring out at the vaporators, eyes squinting in the glare.

“There,” Luke said brightly, tugging at his arm and pointing to the edge of the farm.

He’d spotted a short figure darting around the sides of a vaporator.

“Good spotting, Luke.”

The young Skywalker beamed up at his father at the praise. As they approached, Leia suddenly appeared to see them, coming toward them at full tilt and yelling. Luke stepped out of the way at the last moment.

Obi-Wan made an abortive movement to try and catch her before she fell, but she dropped too quickly. Leia went sailing into the sand and briefly disappeared in a cloud of dust. Obi-Wan took a step toward her but once again she moved faster than he could.

“Luke, thas _rude,_ ” Leia yelled at her brother, pulling herself up from the ground and shaking the sand from her skirt.

“I din't want you ta’hit me,” he replied, chin held high and arms crossed over his chest. He looked exactly like Padmé.

The pair of them then _stared_ at each other for a long moment before they both dropped their angry poses and began a new conversation. At some point they were really going to have to train them out of that. It certainly didn’t help that he and Anakin were occasionally guilty of it too.

“Hello Obi-Wan,” Anakin said, appearing from behind the vaporator. “Come to help?” He began unscrewing a bolt on the side with a wrench.

“No, we came to distract you.”

“Oh?”

Obi-Wan smiled at his back. “Bail wants to talk to us. Padmé asked me to come get you.”

Anakin paused, the wrench in his hand stilling. “All three of us?”

“Apparently.”

“Alright kiddos, I’ll race you back to the house!” Anakin yelled as he turned and was quickly followed by two shrieks and the twins sprinting out ahead.

When they caught up with the twins again, both of them were sitting on the front doorstep playing with handfuls of sand.

“Good running, both of you. Very impressive,” Anakin said opening the door.

“Dad, you didn’t even _try,_ ” Leia whined, tugging on his arm.

Anakin smiled, lifting his arm so her legs came off the ground for a moment. “My legs are tired. Also I knew I couldn’t possibly win.”

“Liar,” Leia shot back and then made a dash inside, Luke a few steps behind her.

Anakin turned to Obi-Wan, looking offended. “Can you believe it? My own daughter called me a liar.”

Obi-Wan had to smile. “She’s right and you know it, dear one.”

“Rude,” Anakin said with a smile.

They followed the twins inside and found Padmé sitting at the subspace communicator. The twins were sitting at the table pulling out their drawing materials. Padmé was perched on a chair, already deep in conversation with Bail. She looked up and smiled when she noticed them, not pausing for a moment in her reply to Bail.

Anakin and Obi-Wan grabbed a chair each and settled on either side of Padmé, both giving Bail a short wave in greeting. He and Padmé quickly wrapped up their talk before Bail addressed all three of them.

“Now, I called the three of you here as I have rather a large favour to ask,” Bail began.

Anakin crossed his arms and frowned thoughtfully.

“Yes, Bail?” Padmé asked, rolling her eyes at Anakin.

“I know you agreed to be a safe house, but this is going rather above and beyond that.” Obi-Wan felt his own eyebrows raise in interest. “I have a group who need a home.”

Padmé stilled. “A group?”

“A home?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan frowned. “Permanently?”

There was a beat of silence.

“Yes to the first two,” Bail said, “and possibly to the last one.”

“Who?” Padmé asked.

“I cannot in good faith tell you more. This feed is safe from prying eyes but I cannot say with surety that it is the same for the room around me. I wish I could. I have a group of seven people who I think would benefit from coming to stay with you.”

“Seven?” Anakin asked, his eyes widening.

“Bail, we cannot promise a _home_ for these people and we definitely cannot promise permanency,” Padmé said slowly. “If the Empire ever came here, we’d be gone immediately.”

Bail’s mouth set itself into a flat line. “I understand.”

Obi-Wan could see the discomfort on Anakin’s face and could feel his own showing in the form of a rather concerned frown. Padmé looked between the two of them.

“Can we think about it?” Padmé asked. “Even just a few minutes to discuss it would be appreciated.”

Bail nodded. “I’ll call you back in half an hour?”

Padmé nodded and the feed dropped.

“Thoughts?” Padmé asked with a smile.

There was an intense back and forth between the three of them for a good twenty minutes. They debated their ability to support another seven people financially, whether it was too much of a risk and would draw too much attention to themselves, their ability to build a space to keep them in, whether they could rightfully refuse people in need, their ability to feed so many people, and if it was worth letting more people know they were all alive.

Anakin sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “We can’t put our family at higher risk by taking so many people in.”

“We also can’t abandon people we could help!” Padmé replied, her voice betraying how clearly she was sick of having the argument.

Anakin looked as though he was going to argue for a moment and then snapped his mouth shut. He was quiet, apparently thinking.

Obi-Wan could see both sides of the problem. He of course wanted to help, but he wanted his family to be safe and to keep them under the Empire’s radar. It was a difficult choice.

“Why don’t we give it a try,” Obi-Wan said. “We can expand the house down another level, and honestly, putting in more space is not a terrible idea, we’re all rather cramped as it is. The worst that happens is—”

“—the Empire finds us and kills us,” Anakin finished darkly.

Obi-Wan sighed. “Thank you, Anakin. I was going to say that if it doesn’t work we ask Bail to find them somewhere else.”

“That too,” Anakin said.

Padmé looked between the two of them. “What’s the decision then? I want to help.”

Obi-Wan agreed with her.

They both looked at Anakin.

“If you say no, we will go with that, Ani,” Padmé said. “It’s a big decision and we should all be happy with it.”

Anakin took a deep breath, glancing between them. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

They called Bail back and gave him their answer.

“Wonderful,” Bail said, smiling. “I know this isn’t an easy thing to do, but I don't believe you will regret it. I will also send you some funds to help you along; and don’t worry, I will do an appropriate amount of tax evasion and bounce the money through off-planet accounts to keep it under wraps.”

“Why Bail, that all sounds rather _illegal_ ,” Obi-Wan said with a grin.

Bail returned the expression. “Yes, it does sound that way, doesn’t it. Oh, and, Obi-Wan?”

“Yes?”

“We have another mission for you,” Bail said. “We’ve finally finished decoding the readouts you pulled from the base on Aleen—Thank you again, Padmé, and please send my utmost gratitude to Jesse again. The information we found there was…very concerning. It is predominantly a half-edited, seemingly early version of a report that the base made to the Empire. It seems Palpatine has been crafting a rather horrific number of, well, super-weapons beneath our noses for some time.”

Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padmé exchanged a look.

“However, the report lists the location of another base and we would like you to investigate. It may be in operation or it may be abandoned like the first. We don’t know, but it is certainly worth pursuing. There’s no rush at the moment, so you may choose when to go.”

“Of course, Bail. Where is it?”

“One of Naboo’s moons. Rori. Big smuggling operation for spice on it, if I remember right.”

Padmé nodded. “That is correct.”

Bail smiled at her. “Basically, it sounds like the Empire may also have a small foothold in the area we want you to check out. A base located there was mentioned a couple of times in the document and it’s not a location we were already aware of.”

There was some brief discussion of details, but Obi-Wan agreed to call for an in depth talk and planning closer to whenever he decided to go. Bail agreed that was sensible, and wished them all well before cutting the connection. The three of them looked between each other and began planning on how they were going to add seven new people into their lives.

The next month passed in a flurry of digging and building whenever they could. Bail had assured them their visitors wouldn’t arrive for around two months, so they had time to get it all ready and work on it when they had time.

They extended their home down another floor, digging new stairs down the end of the existing corridor between Jesse and Rex’s rooms. They had decided to put all necessities on the lower floor; it would open to a communal space; two couches and a table with chairs with a kitchenette off to the right. Then there was to be a hallway with five rooms; two on either side and one on the end. The plan was for the first door on the right to be the bathroom and for the other four rooms to be bedrooms. They weren’t sure on if they’d need more rooms, or if their guests would be happy sharing, but that was an issue to explore whey they actually arrived. The excavating mainly fell on Obi-Wan and Padmé, with Kix helping out on days he wasn’t working. Anakin initially started with digging out the space, but once the open area was complete he focused on building a functioning kitchenette and hooking up the lights. Threepio was very helpful in watching the twins when all the adults were busy.

If nothing else, and the whole thing fell through, it gave them options. If the clones wanted to have dinner separate to the Skywalker’s, then they could. If the _one_ bathroom they currently had was occupied there would be _options_. Honestly, looking back over the last year or so, Obi-Wan isn’t entirely sure how they had managed it. It was still a work in progress, but so far they hadn’t come across any major issues and the space should be ready in time for their visitors.

Then at then end of that first month, Rex, Jesse, and Artoo came home. They’d been gone for two months now, off doing whatever Bail and Ahsoka needed to get the rebellion functioning and making effective change. They both returned clearly happy with themselves, if utterly exhausted and ready for some down time at home. Ahsoka didn’t come with them, apparently having other things to accomplish. Now that Kix’s brothers were home, it was going to make excavating the lower floor much easier.

* * *

Obi-Wan sat on his favourite rock above the house.

He sat cross legged, his hands resting gently on his knees, lowering himself down into meditation. His pants were faintly scratchy against his palms, and the rock was almost uncomfortably warm where he sat, but it felt right.

He’d been trying to meditate more often recently after his little moment in the rain.

After he thought he heard his old master speak to him.

 _Balance_.

The only word he’d heard before he’d startled and found nothing.

He focused back within himself and fingered over his thoughts and feelings, taking some time to bask in the utter love and adoration he felt for Anakin and Padmé. Obi-Wan was just…so happy. The twins were joyous and healthy, the clones were actually _living,_ and Anakin and Padmé were the two lights that lit his life.

He wasn’t looking forward to having to leave home again, but he couldn’t abandon Bail and the rebellion.

He passed over each of those thoughts, revelling in some and considering others before settling himself into quiet.

Some time later, he rose from his mind and let his eyes rove over the house. Obi-Wan watched the twins run circles in the yard, chasing Jesse around and around the vaporators. There was much screaming from all three; Jesse sprinting ahead of the two of them, ‘hiding’ behind a vaporator until they got too close, and then running off again to repeat the tactic. Luke and Leia were slowly catching on, eventually splitting up to have a better chance at catching him. Then Padmé appeared in the doorway, yelling something and beckoning for the three of them to come in. Obi-Wan watched them retreat into the house and smiled down at his home; his family.

He was utterly content.

“Hello Obi-Wan,” a low voice said beside him.

Obi-Wan felt his breath catch and willed away the panic that threatened to overwhelm him again. He was certain that’s what had broken the connection last time.

Obi-Wan slowly turned his head and saw the luminous, almost transparent figure of Qui-Gon Jinn standing beside him. He looked much the same as he had the last time Obi-Wan had seen him; hair partly pulled back into a tail and a scruffy beard that always somehow made him look very handsome.

He tried to keep his voice level as he said, “Master Jinn.”

Qui-Gon smiled at him. “Really, Obi-Wan, we are well past all that now. It’s Qui-Gon.”

“Yes, Qui-Gon.” Obi-Wan smiled. It sounded exactly like him, though more like he was standing in a chambered room than outside in broad daylight. “I’m not exactly sure how this is happening. Or how it happened last time.” He sighed, falling back into old familiar patterns with his Master, his private thoughts falling from his lips. “I tried for a long time to contact you after everything. Somehow it never seemed to work.”

“You were in turmoil then. Barely able to listen to yourself, let alone me,” Qui-Gon said with the calm, measured timbre Obi-Wan remembered most. “You were at peace with yourself and your life in that moment you heard me last time. You were in balance then; as you are now.”

Obi-Wan found he couldn’t argue with his logic. He _had_ been in turmoil back then and it was a time that he looked back on in horror. Some days he couldn’t even believe it was something that had happened given where they are now. Sometimes he was embarrassed by how he had acted then, regardless of how he knew it had been beyond his control. It pained him to know that Qui-Gon had seen that.

But then that day months ago, standing in the cool, refreshing rain and surrounded by his family, Obi-Wan had decided to return Padmé’s proposal. He had decided to throw all caution to the wind and make a choice about what he wanted his life to be like. He wanted to spend it with them. He thought back to that day. “You said that to me the other day in the rain. ‘Balance’ was all I heard.”

“Balance,” Qui-Gon said again, sagely. It was a tone of voice Obi-Wan had become very familiar with over his apprenticeship. A tone that said there was something deeper there that Obi-Wan was meant to understand and decipher.

“I don’t understand, Master,” Obi-Wan said, the phrase and title slipping from his lips out of age-old habit.

Qui-Gon turned his head to face him and smiled. “The Chosen One is here to bring _balance_ to the Force. I want you to reflect on what that could mean.”

“Homework? Really?” Obi-Wan asked, incredulous.

Qui-Gon laughed. “I already have some thoughts on the matter but I would like a second opinion. I trust yours.” He smiled. “You have become a very wise man, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan looked at him, and then shook his head. “And after everything that has happened you still think Anakin is the Chosen One?”

“I ask you to reflect on it _especially_ after everything that has happened. You did the unthinkable and shifted the course of time from it’s pre-destined path,” Qui-Gon continued. “Somehow you stood before an inevitable storm and turned it away.”

Obi-Wan just stared.

“Although I’m sure it’s hard to see now, you stripped a great deal of power from Sidious by taking Anakin from him,” Qui-Gon said seriously. “Things could be much, much worse than they are for the Galaxy at large.”

Obi-Wan mulled this over, and shook his head. “But I killed An—Vader. In my vision—the other timeline—whatever you want to call it—I killed him.”

Qui-Gon just stared at him, pity clinging to his eyes.

Obi-Wan’s hand crept to his mouth, clutching at a beard that was long gone. Instinctively he reached down the bond he shared with Anakin, desperately and irrationally checking he was okay. He was. Thank the Force.

He could barely get the words out. “He survived that…what I did.” Obi-Wan felt sick. His voice a hoarse whisper. He never wanted to know this. He didn’t know if was worse knowing that he could kill Anakin, or that he couldn’t but could leave him in such a _state_ — “How could you know this?”

“I’m dead,” his old Master said. “Time has…less control over me. I was staring down a barrel of an unquestioned, unstoppable future where Darth Vader was Sidious’ choke-hold on the galaxy…and still you found a way to shove time out of it’s path.”

Obi-Wan was quiet for a long time, staring at a non-existent point in space.

“It’s a lovely family you have here,” Qui-Gon said, dragging the conversation back from that dark pit. “I hear congratulations are in order as well.”

Obi-Wan’s mind was still reeling, absently replying with, “Yes. Thank you.” When the comment finally registered, Obi-Wan suddenly felt fourteen again. He could feel how his cheeks flushed.

Qui-Gon, noticing the blushing, laughed. “It’s not how I thought things would unfold when I asked you to train him, but it seems to have worked out.” Qui-Gon sighed. “I wish to apologise. I made a rash decision in asking you to train Anakin—”

“You were _dying_ ,” Obi-Wan pointed out, and Qui-Gon held up his hand to silence him.

“Yes, well. It was still an unfair thing to ask of a Padawan.”

Obi-Wan felt himself bristle.

“Relax, Obi-Wan. I still think you were too young to take on such a responsibility, but even I must admit you did a better job of it than I think I ever could have.”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan replied softly.

“I’m sure you look back on your training of Anakin and see all the things you could have done better,” Qui-Gon said suddenly, again shifting the conversation.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan replied automatically, caught off guard at the change of tracks. Of course he fucking did. He should have done a thousand things differently. He could have been warmer. He could have been kinder. He could have confronted Anakin and Padmé about their relationship years ago so it couldn't become a festering secret between them. He could have been better. He knew that.

“It is the curse of being a teacher.” Qui-Gon gave him a fond smile. “I find myself in the same situation. It is much easier to look back on the past and know what you could have done better than it is to make a decision at the time.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I would like to apologise for how I treated you during our apprenticeship. There are many instances which I can see now did not help your growth, when I at the time thought my actions would help you build character. Hindsight is much clearer, particularly when you’re dead and have to watch all the consequences of your choices.”

“I—thank you. It’s…fine.” There were thousands of things he could have said. Somehow he couldn’t find the right words. It was far, far too much.

“Regardless, Obi-Wan. I’m very proud of you,” Qui-Gon said seriously.

Then he vanished.

Obi-Wan resisted calling him an asshole. Death evidently hadn’t removed Qui-Gon’s need to have the last word. He sighed and turned his attention back to the farmstead.

He shifted awkwardly in his seat, the suns suddenly too hot, the wind too dry and his clothes too scratchy. His chest felt tight. It was…unequivocally wonderful that after all this time, Qui-Gon was proud of him. But the knowledge about Anakin sat heavily in his chest. Kriff, he was 40…oh Force he was 40—that explained the grey hairs. He was an adult, and a Master, and a Council member, and a General, and Qui-Gon Jinn still somehow made him feel off-centre. There was far, _far_ too much said and unsaid between them over the years to be dealt with in one conversation. So many questions he still had.

“Obi-Wan!?” Anakin called, his voice frantic, his feet crunching in the rock as he jogged up the mountain.

“Here,” he said softly, staring over the ridge.

Anakin was suddenly in his field of vision, kneeling before him in the sand, his hands coming to rest on either side of his face, his right particularly cool in the heat of the day.

“What’s wrong?” Anakin asked. “Are you okay?”

He tried putting his feelings into words, trying to find a way to explain what the _fuck_ had just happened.

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin ran his hands though Obi-Wan’s hair, and then briefly kissed his lips. “Please talk to me. I felt you panic and reach for me. What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine, just, give me a moment?”

“Of course.”

Anakin didn’t move, his bright blue eyes watching Obi-Wan obsessively.

Obi-Wan finally began with, “So I just had a talk with Qui-Gon Jinn.”

Anakin watched him for a few beats longer, clearly waiting for the punchline, and then; “I’m sorry?”

Obi-Wan leant forward to press their foreheads together. “ _I just had a conversation with Qui-Gon fucking Jinn,”_ Obi-Wan laughed, a touch on the hysterical side.

“Obi-Wan?”

At some point, the laughter turned to weird half-laughs, half-sobs. Obi-Wan gathered Anakin into his arms, pulling him part way up onto his rock and shoving his face into Anakin’s neck. He was feeling too much, too fast, too confusing _—_ he just wanted to bury his face in Anakin and the knowledge that Anakin was happy and safe and _his—_

“Obi-Wan. I don’t understand.”

Obi-Wan slowly pulled away, still on edge and feeling _weird._ “May I show you?”

Anakin nodded and Obi-Wan lowered his walls between them and hesitantly shoved the recent memories at Anakin.

“What the fuck,” Anakin said a moment later.

Obi-Wan let out a breathless little laugh. “Yes. Rather.”

Anakin frowned and inched closer again, half in Obi-Wan’s lap. “He upset you.”

Not…exactly.

Unable to find the words, Obi-Wan shoved the mixed ball of _feelings_ at Anakin: the joy at seeing his master again, and the _shock_ of it; the pride in himself for changing time; his happiness that Qui-Gon was proud of him; his indignation at his old Master’s ability to make him feel small; the confusion at the task Qui-Gon had given him; the weird delight that Qui-Gon was fine with his and Anakin and Padmé’s relationship; the five thousand questions he had for him; the feeling of betrayal that was _still there_ after fifteen years of separation that Qui-Gon had gone on ahead without him;the awful, gut wrenching knowledge that Anakin had survived Mustafar in the other timeline—

Anakin’s eyes went wide for a moment and then softened, refocusing back on Obi-Wan. “Yeah. That’s a lot.”

“You—don’t seem surprised about any of it. Not even the bit about Mustafar,” Obi-Wan said hesitantly, still feeling nothing but protective love radiating from Anakin. Obi-Wan was far more concerned about this than Anakin and it was suspicious.

Anakin pressed his lips together, his eyes darting away for a moment. “Oh. Yeah. Not really.”

“You knew? How—”

“I suspected,” Anakin admitted. “In the days leading up to…it all...I knew I was going to suffer. I thought it was Padmé related.”

Obi-Wan’s hands clenched into fists, a whole new confusing swirl of emotions clamouring for his attention.

“Hey. Hey!” Anakin said, sliding closer. “Stop focusing on it. It doesn’t matter.” Anakin kissed him. “It doesn’t matter. We’re past all this.” He clasped their hands together. “And if Qui-Gon shows his face around here again I’m going to fight him,” Anakin yelled viciously to the empty air around them. His voice pitched softer again, tapping their noses together. “No-one is allowed to hurt you like this.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to—”

Anakin kissed him. “I don’t care.”

“Anakin, please.”

He just made a face at Obi-Wan.

“Anakin, what the hell has gotten into you?” called Padmé’s voice from the same direction Anakin had initially appeared from.

“Over here,” Anakin replied.

Padmé appeared slowly, rising up the mountainside, a quizzical look on her face when she noticed what was going on. “You just _bolted,_ Ani _._ Is everything alright?”

Obi-Wan said, “Yes,” at the exact moment that Anakin said, “No.”

They glared at each other for a moment.

Padmé smirked at them both. “What’s up, boys?”

“Qui-Gon Jinn is apparently a ghost now and he just dropped a whole lot of shit on Obi-Wan and vanished like a jerk,” Anakin explained, weirdly succinct.

Padmé’s eyebrows just rose. “Okay?”

Anakin then explained it in a little more detail, his wife listening thoughtfully throughout. Obi-Wan was immensely grateful he didn’t have to be the one to explain it in words. He was still trying to process the tidal wave of emotion that Qui-Gon had swelled within him. Now, however, given time and the soft cadence of Anakin’s voice, he’d settled into a warm happiness that he was able to see Qui-Gon again. As much as their relationship had been fraught with disagreements and issues and stumbling-blocks, he had respected the man and was forever grateful for what he had taught Obi-Wan.

A ruckus drew all their attention as the excited chattering of the twins came from the path up to the cliff. Rex appeared first, his blonde head bobbing into view, his hair now a couple of inches long, thick and lightly curled. He looked more like the few younger clones Obi-Wan had come across. As the rest of his body came into view they found the twins attached to his arms. Luke walking and talking while holding his left hand, and Leia holding his right while doing her best to drag him up the hill as fast as possible.

“I see I shouldn’t have worried that someone had died,” Rex said, smiling and bringing the twins to a stop.

“Not recently at least,” Obi-Wan said absently.

“O-kay. Jesse has started on dinner and kicked us out,” Rex said, doing bicep curls with a giggling twin on each arm, their legs coming a good foot off the ground. “I was wondering if the three of you were up for training. You wanted me to show you some tricks, Padmé?”

Leia leapt off of Rex’s arm and launched herself at her mother, Padmé letting out a _whoomph_ of air as she hit.

“Leia, baby, gentle please,” Padmé admonished and then turned back to Rex. “Yes, I did. Thank you for reminding me.”

“Sorry Mum. Uncle Rex said we could train with’im,” Leia replied

“I could use some activity,” Obi-Wan said thoughtfully. Going head-to-head with Anakin to empty the noise in his mind sounded ideal right about now.

“I’ll go get everything then,” Anakin said, squeezing Obi-Wan’s hand, and then took off back down the hill.

“Do you mind walking the kids up to the cave?” Padmé asked Rex. “We’ll help Ani carry everything when he gets back.”

Rex looked skeptical but nodded. “C’mon, General,” he said and offered up his hand to Leia again. “We need to turn on the generator.”

Leia nodded happily, hopped off of her mother, and reattached herself to Rex. “Okay. Me’n’Luke can help.”

That sorted, Rex and the twins disappeared.

Padmé leant her head on Obi-Wan’s shoulder, her hand wrapping around his where it rested on his knee. “How are you doing, really?” Padmé asked, her thumb stroking the back of his hand.

Obi-Wan leant back into her. “Startled, mostly, I think. Overwhelmed?”

“Do you need anything?”

Obi-Wan smiled, his chest and heart filled with warmth at Padmé’s thoughtfulness, and he turned his hand to lace their fingers together.

“This is pretty good,” Obi-Wan said. “I think I would like to talk to him again. It was so abrupt. So much to take in.”

Padmé nodded, her head rubbing against his shoulder. “That’s fair.” She was quiet before making a thoughtful sound. “From everything I understand and what you’ve told me, your relationship seemed rather complicated. Taking a couple of days to organise your thoughts and feelings before you speak again might be a good idea.”

That made a lot of sense. And here he’d been planning to try and contact him again later today.

“Thank you.”

Anakin reappeared around ten minutes later, arms laden with a pair of blasters as well as his and Obi-Wan’s lightsabers.

“Come on,” Anakin said with a grin, handing off some of the items to the two of them. “You’re distracted enough that I should be able to kick your ass, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan laughed. “We shall see, Anakin.”

When they made it up to the cave system, Luke and Leia were sat in the centre of the first section of the cave. They watched intently as Rex showed off for them, doing handstands and walking on his hands.

Padmé clapped enthusiastically, walking over to him holding two blaster pistols.

“The shooting range is new,” Obi-Wan noted, his eyes traveling along the righthand side of the cave was now a series of wooden targets.

“Padmé, Jesse, and I made them,” Rex said. “We all thought it would be good to keep our skills up.”

Obi-Wan looked at Padmé. She smiled at him and whipped up her gun, posing like a poster girl from a blaster advertisement. He winked back at her. Satisfied, Padmé turned her attention solely on Rex. He watched for a moment as Rex spoke to her, giving her clear, concise instructions on what they were doing, Padmé listening closely.

Luke and Leia both practiced their forms alongside their fathers, Anakin and Obi-Wan offering the occasional suggestion or praise. After about twenty minutes however the two children became distracted and they ended up sitting down and tracing their fingers in the dust and sand of the cave floor while half watching their parents practice.

“Warmed up enough?” Anakin asked, hand on his hip and watching Obi-Wan closely.

“Are you?” Obi-Wan moved into a stance that seemed casual but they both knew meant he was ready to go at any moment.

Anakin grinned.

They both stood stock still, staring at one another for a further thirty seconds. Then Obi-Wan made the first move, swinging his blade down onto Anakin who blocked him with ease. They started slow, prodding each other’s defences and reacquainting themselves with one another. Slowly, the pace built, both of them pulling their hits less and ramping up the difficulty. Their blades met in synchronised perfection, both of them able to predict the other.

It was exactly what Obi-Wan needed. He felt the last of the tension in his mind and body melt away as he danced with Anakin. This was safe and familiar.

They exchanged more blows, working their way up and down the cave, both of them using the terrain to their advantage—

A vibrant image of Mustafar flashed through his mind, and Obi-Wan watched himself cut Anakin down.

“Kriff,” Obi-Wan whispered suddenly and stilled, powering off his blade, his breath catching in his throat.

That hadn’t happened for a long, long time.

Anakin stopped instantly, his blade dropping, switching off and coming over to Obi-Wan in a matter of moments. Obi-Wan didn’t even need to say what was wrong, their bond still mostly open and sizzling with emotion.

“Sorry,” Obi-Wan said in a hushed voice.

“It’s fine,” Anakin whispered back. “We probably should have expected it.”

Obi-Wan glanced at him and smiled. “For the record, it was helping.”

“I know.”

“I am still so impressed by the two of you,” Rex said, drawing their attention. Padmé still standing beside him and watching them worriedly. “Watching you fight with your blades is incredible. Especially now when your lives aren’t at stake.”

Anakin’s head whipped around in interest. “Do you want to learn?”

Rex froze. “What?”

“Do you want to learn?” Anakin repeated. “I’d be happy to show you.”

“Is Rex gonna do katas?” Luke asked, head turning to the conversation.

“Yeah, I’d be interested,” Rex said.

Anakin looked over to Obi-Wan, a bright smile on his face. “Obi, can Rex borrow your blade?”

“Of course.” Obi-Wan handed the hilt over the Rex who took it with gentle, careful fingers. He felt a wave of relief. Trust Anakin to know getting the weapon out of his hands was exactly what he needed.

Rex stared at the hilt in his hand for a long moment before looking back over to Anakin, asking, “What’s first?” with an excited smile on his face.

Obi-Wan felt an arm come around his waist and turned to find Padmé next to him, her hand on his hip. “Shall we watch?” she asked.

The two of them moved to find a rock to settle on and watch Anakin and Rex. Once they found a spot, they called Leia and Luke moved to sit closer to them. Padmé rested her head on his shoulder and they watched for an hour or so as Anakin took his past Commander through the basic stances and movements. Rex was an avid learner, quick to pick up new information and execute it effectively. He asked insightful questions and took the whole thing very seriously. Possibly too seriously, but Obi-Wan could also see the light of recognition in his eyes that he and Anakin completely trusted Rex with this.

“It’s lighter than I thought it would be,” Rex said afterwards, Leia perched on his shoulders—Luke was on Anakin’s—handing Obi-Wan his blade back. “The hilt was as heavy as I remembered, but it never occurred to me the actual blade would be light—I mean I clearly _should have_ given it’s light—but still.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “It’s certainly different to metal bladed weapons.”

“Can we do that again sometime?” Rex asked, prying one of Leia’s hands from in front of his eye.

“Of course,” Anakin replied. “You should get Obi-Wan to show you some things too. He’s pretty good at training people.”

Obi-Wan flushed and smiled at Anakin.

“You c’n practice with us!” Luke yelled.

Rex nodded. “Sounds good, Joystick.”

Obi-Wan then followed Padmé’s advice and took a few days to clear his head before he tried to contact Qui-Gon again. By the next attempt he was feeling grounded again and the utter shock had completely left his system. Of course, Anakin insisted he join him this time, claiming, “I’m not going to let him upset you again. Also, I want to see him too.”

Obi-Wan had sighed, but decided not to argue and the pair headed on up to the meditation rock. They sat side by side, their bond fairly open to one another and sought the calm needed for this to work. Clearly Obi-Wan had explained it all to Anakin exceptionally well as it only took a few minutes before they heard a familiar voice.

“Hello, Obi-Wan. It’s good to see you again, Anakin,” Qui-Gon said, appearing from nothingness to their left as though stepping through a door from some other plane of existence into theirs.

“That’s really spooky,” Anakin said, and inquisitively extended his hand toward Qui-Gon’s form, his fingers passing through his robe with ease. “Also, it’s very strange, and I understand why, but I remember you being so much taller,” Anakin continued.

Qui-Gon laughed. “You were much shorter when I met you.”

“So how’s death?”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “— _Anakin_.”

“What? I’m not being rude, I’m interested.” Anakin focused back on Qui-Gon. “What’s it like?”

Qui-Gon crinkled his eyes at him, floating forward a few feet. “It is strange. Certainly different to being alive, but given that I have lingered here and not passed over to wherever it is the dead go, I don’t think I can give you an honest answer. I chose to stay here and watch what was to pass and slowly gained the ability to be heard.” He turned to Obi-Wan. “Initially I could only speak to Master Yoda, and this somewhat physical form is a new thing.”

Anakin nodded. “Interesting. So have you been watching us?” Clearly Anakin was on some kind of intelligence gathering warpath about this.

“Sometimes. I think I spend most of my time here, but have visited Master Yoda a few times. Thus far I’m only able to travel between people I had a strong connection with in life, so my movement is somewhat limited. I cannot just fly around the galaxy at will, as convenient as that would be. Also making myself heard is even trickier, so my social circle is limited to you two and Yoda. I’m fairly certain I could speak with your children if I tried, but I thought that would be unkind to scare them so.”

Anakin smiled and then paused, apparently weighing his next comment. “So…do you come into the house? Because the three of us kind of have a thing going and…that feels _really_ weird to know you could be around.”

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to do _something_. He just—Anakin couldn’t just ask something like that, it was rude, or not rude. Weird? It sat strangely in his chest.

But Qui-Gon just started laughing, a loud guffawing sound as his eyes heavily crinkled.

Okay, apparently not rude. He shut his mouth. Obi-Wan supposed that he and Anakin had had very different relationships with Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan could never imagine asking him such a question.

“No Anakin, I am not often inside the house. Besides, time is often hard to grasp like this, so when I’m not trying, time and awareness tends to slip away from me.”

“Okay. Good to know.”

Qui-Gon shook his head, still smiling.

“Have you thought on my assignment yet, Obi-Wan?” Qui-Gon asked suddenly.

Oh. Whoops. He’d utterly forgotten about that, caught up in the rest of it and trying not to let the emotional weight of it all overwhelm him. Idiot. He should have done a better job at this.

Qui-Gon chuckled at what must have been a guilty expression on his face.

“No. I haven’t just yet,” Obi-Wan admitted and tried to shove away the feelings of inadequacy trying to climb out of his chest.

He then found Anakin’s hand wrapped around his and was given a reassuring squeeze. “I did,” Anakin said suddenly, and shrunk in on himself when both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan swivelled their heads around to look at him. “I mean. I have some thoughts on it?”

Obi-Wan felt a proud smile light his lips.

“Oh?” Qui-Gon asked.

“Well. If we’re talking about literal _balance_ in the Force, then the Light side was clearly the overburdened side. I—Sidious—well, it’s been equalised a little bit now.” Obi-Wan could feel Anakin’s thin stream of _panic—fear—shame_ along their bond and he suddenly wanted Qui-Gon out of their lives again. It was utterly selfish but Obi-Wan didn’t care. This wasn’t right or kind to Anakin. The aforementioned lover must have caught that thought as he squeezed Obi-Wan’s hand again. “That’s the main thought I had at least.”

Qui-Gon nodded slowly, before cryptically adding, “I still think there’s more to it.” The dramatic old man. “I will leave you to ponder it some more. I’m still mastering retaining a physical form and it is very draining. Another time?”

Obi-Wan nodded and Anakin agreed.

“If I don’t appear the next time you try to contact me, then it’s possible I’m not here. I had promised to visit Yoda soon,” Qui-Gon said and then he vanished again.

They sat in silence together for a few beats, staring at the place where Qui-Gon had been.

“You really think the prophecy was saying that you were going to destroy the Jedi?” Obi-Wan asked softly.

“I…don’t know,” Anakin replied. “I don’t like to think that it was predestined for me to destroy everything, but it’s a conclusion that makes some sense.”

Obi-Wan brought the back of Anakin’s hand to his lips. “Master Jinn seems to think there may be more to it?”

“Hmmm,” Anakin said, staring out at the desert horizon. “I prefer being a no-name moisture farmer who’s really good at fixing things rather than the stupid, kriffing Chosen One. I have not missed any of this Force destiny rubbish at all.”

Obi-Wan leant forward and left a reassuring kiss on his cheek. “Honestly Anakin, I have to agree with you.”

* * *

Three months after Bail had contacted them, their guests still hadn’t arrived. The whole lower floor was completely finished; a comfortable lounge and kitchen, four bedrooms and a spacious bathroom were fully furnished and functioning. All of them had taken to using the space, though it was mainly the clones who did so, given that the stairs were closer to their rooms. The three of them could often be found playing card games or entertaining the twins in the lounge, while Jesse had called dibs on the kitchen and was having a lovely time trying out new recipes. No-one objected given that the snacks he was creating were to die for.

The twins who had been initially excited at the prospects of new friends living with them, had given up all hope of these mystery people ever arriving. Obi-Wan couldn’t exactly blame them. Each time they spoke to Bail, he was fairly close lipped but kept reiterating that there were issues with their guests getting safely across the galaxy, and they were being extra careful to not bring the Empire to their home. Obi-Wan really appreciated that even if the waiting was becoming increasingly annoying.

But now Obi-Wan couldn’t put off Bail’s mission any longer. His friend had been making more and more inquiries as to when he was going, worried that they would miss their window to investigate or the Empire would catch onto them.

He had to go.

“Have you seen my lightsaber?” Obi-Wan called, standing in the middle of the lounge room, hands on his hips and staring around the space in frustration.

Anakin’s head appeared in the archway to the kitchen. “Maybe downstairs? I think I saw it there recently.”

Obi-Wan sighed, his hands dropping from his hips. “I already checked there.”

Anakin was suddenly smirking at Obi-Wan, walking toward him and asking with a cheeky lilt to his voice. “Whatever happened to ‘this weapon is your life’, Obi?”

“All of you became my life.”

Anakin stopped in his tracks a few paces away, then laughed awkwardly and ran his hand through his hair. Obi-Wan was rather proud of how pink he’d managed to make Anakin. He found he rather loved doing it to him.

“And Padmé says _I’m_ the disgustingly romantic one,” Anakin laughed. “Come on. I’ll help you look.” Anakin grabbed his hand and dragged him downstairs.

Twenty minutes of searching later, Anakin discovered Obi-Wan’s lightsaber buried at the bottom of their shared sock drawer.

“I really don’t remember putting it there,” Obi-Wan said, taking it with a smile.

Anakin shrugged. “Wasn’t me. It might have been Padmé.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “Oh well. Now I just need to pack a small bag. Kix and the others want to leave early tomorrow morning so it’d be best if I was prepared. Kix does have work to do after all.” Bail had informed Jesse and Rex of a new mission to help Ahsoka with and were planning to leave in the morning as well. Obi-Wan looked about the room absently. He _should_ pack.

Anakin sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at him thoughtfully. “You don't want to go, do you?”

Obi-Wan was quiet. He did and he didn’t. “I don’t know.”

Obi-Wan paced back and forth for a few minutes, trying to maintain the ruse that he was looking for things to pack. Anakin watched him quietly.

“You don’t have to go,” Anakin said. “I’m sure Bail could send someone else.”

“I know.” Obi-Wan ran his fingers through his hair. “I know. it doesn’t feel right though, lumping it on someone else. I don’t want to go back on my word.”

Anakin said nothing.

“I’m just, so very happy here with you and Padmé and our children. I feel bad for leaving the twins too; they now understand that Daddy’s leaving them. I just don’t know what I’d do if I weren’t going out for the rebellion anymore, but I detest leaving you all. I need something to do. I still want to do good.”

Anakin continued to be uncharacteristically silent.

Obi-Wan ran his hand over the golden strands on Anakin’s head, watching him closely. “Maybe I’ll reconsider what I do when I get home.”

Anakin smiled up at him. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Anakin then helped him pack, reluctantly finding him clothes and essentials to shove into his bag.

That evening passed far too quickly for Obi-Wan’s liking. They had a relaxed night in with Padmé and Anakin making a dish he recognised from a few Nabooian parties he had attended; a succulent piece of meat swimming in a thick vegetable sauce. It didn’t taste exactly how he remembered, but given they were on a very different planet, it made sense.

Dinner over and twins put to bed, Anakin, Padmé, and Obi-Wan retired early to their bedroom for a long session of cuddling and absent chatter about the goings on of their lives. It had been perfect. Anakin had been wrapped around his back, his long blond hair falling over Obi-Wan’s shoulder as he half held up his head so he could see Padmé curled up into Obi-Wan’s chest with his arms around her. Anakin was in the middle of a story about a pain in the ass customer when Obi-Wan dropped into slumber, his face shoved into Padmé’s hair, soft and floral against his senses.

After breakfast the next morning Obi-Wan reluctantly said his goodbyes to the twins who were equally sad to see him go. Luke burst into tears as he said goodbye and tried to detach the pair of them from his legs. After much coaxing and promising he would come home as soon as possible, he managed to escape out the door. He felt hot, churning guilt well up in his chest as he walked away from them.

Rex, Kix, and Jesse were all already in the speeder when he made it outside. Anakin and Padmé were standing a few feet away from the vehicle wishing them well. Obi-Wan strode over to them, dumping his bag in the back seat with Jesse. Anakin held out his hand and dragged Obi-Wan closer to him.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Anakin said quietly, leaning his forehead against Obi-Wan’s. “Please be careful.” Anakin’s eyes had been closed but when he pulled back they were open and blue and searching Obi-Wan’s face for _something_.

Obi-Wan lifted his hand to thumb Anakin’s cheek, his fingers curling back into his hair. “I will be as careful as I can.” He kissed Anakin’s other cheek. “Besides, it’s just another intelligence gathering mission.”

“Don’t curse yourself.” Then Anakin was kissing him.

“Don’t forget to call,” Padmé said, nudging Anakin out of the way and then leaning up on her tippy-toes to kiss him goodbye. “We love you.”

“Love you too,” Obi-Wan replied, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “I’ll try to visit your family on the way back.”

Padmé smiled. “Thank you. That would be lovely. Do tell them you gave me that shawl. My mother will be beside herself.”

A horn beeped from behind them. “Let’s go, Kenobi!” Kix yelled. “I’m going to be late. I’ve got important shit to do!”

“Time to go.” Obi-Wan smiled. “I’ll be home soon. I’ll call every few days.”

Obi-Wan jumped into the back of the speeder with Jesse, Artoo boosting up and into the back seat between them. Kix drove them into town and unceremoniously dumped all four of them at the spaceport before he tossed them a very lazy salute accompanied by a friendly, “Have fun, lads.”

Rex and Jesse were going to go to Zolan with Obi-Wan and then make their way to Ahsoka’s location on their own. They found a freighter going that direction so the trip was boring and the three of them played a number of rounds of sabbac, Rex utterly trouncing the other two. Once they reached Zolan two days later, Obi-Wan wished the pair well and left them at the spaceport.

Obi-Wan then had to wait a few days on Zolan for Bail’s contact to show up. Initially they’d planned for Obi-Wan to go straight to Rori, but had decided that going in though the smugglers spaceport rather than any official ones would be safest. Less chance of anyone recognising him or giving half-a-damn regardless.

He called home on his third day on Zolan, restless and bored of reading while waiting for this contact. He also seemed to have developed a tight, growing flutter in his chest when he thought of home. Obi-Wan was greeted by Padmé’s glowing smile and a sleepy Leia on her lap. Padmé filled him in on all the mundanities of their lives, and how their guests still hadn’t arrived, but Bail seemed to think it was going to be within a couple of weeks now. She seemed fine to him, and it loosed the strange feeling from around his heart.

Another day of waiting and considering cancelling the whole thing, the contact finally showed. A Quarran smuggler named Perl identified herself to Ben and they bargained for the lift. Obi-Wan ended up agreeing to a small payment and being available as a crew-member for the journey. From there the trip was easy. He and Artoo journeyed with the smugglers for a week, evading Imperial blockades and patrols with clearly practiced ease before landing on Rori. Obi-Wan stayed long enough to help offload whatever terribly illegal goods they’d been hauling, payed the fee he owed Perl, and settled into the backwater port.

Obi-Wan planned to take the next couple of days to talk to the locals and see what he could pull out of them. It seemed the smugglers imported a variety of things, but mainly exported spice from the Kobola Spice Mine. Given that the mine's location was a secret and the whole mining operation was illegal as all hells, he figured the local scoundrels would have some idea about the comings and goings of Imperial troops in the area.

He was proven right.

Obi-Wan managed to befriend a small group of local miners by impersonating a smuggler who had recently managed to miss his ride off planet like an idiot because he’d had a few too many drinks the night before. Between several gambling games, a selection of drinks and Obi-Wan’s ability to patiently wait for a topic to come up or for information to fall into his lap, he discovered a lot. Apparently the Imperial Base was as abandoned as the last one he visited. None of the miners had seen any movement in that direction for the last four or five months, everything apparently having been relocated somewhere else. The people Obi-Wan spoke to were considering checking the base out in the next few weeks to see if there was anything worth salvaging, only hesitant due to fears of traps and mechanised sentries.

In the end Obi-Wan waited a week and a half after arriving before making a move. It took him a week to get that initial information, and then he spent half a week investigating the outskirts of the base. He saw no-one come or go and there was discarded trash all over the place, mainly in the form of wrecked speeders or swoops.

He called home the night before he planned to investigate, updating Padmé and Anakin on what he’d discovered so far and having a brief conversation with his kids. He also had a short exchange with Kix who was passing through the lounge room at the time. Obi-Wan promised to call in a day or two after, pressing down the burning feeling of missing them all.

The next morning he and Artoo set out into the marsh. He approached the base head on, confident in the abandoned nature of the buildings. As he’d discovered in the previous days’ investigation, there were half-wrecked swoop bikes and a couple of speeders piled haphazardly out the front, and the first set of blast doors were slightly ajar.

Then Obi-Wan felt a dark pulse in the Force as he stepped through the half-open doorway. He realised with a sinking heart that it was a trap when he already had one foot within its grasp. How could he have missed this? Force, he was a moron.

He swore under his breath and paused, weighing his options.

He couldn’t turn back now. He couldn’t risk taking the trap—whoever was here—with him to Tatooine. Kriffing fuck. The only thing left to do was spring the damn thing. Obi-Wan wished he had Anakin with him to cover his back. He sighed. Onwards it was.

“Artoo, stay close,” Obi-Wan said. “I do believe that everything is about to go badly.” He cast his eyes back out to the abandoned vehicles near the entrance. They must work, regardless of how damaged they looked. He filed the information away and hoped he wouldn’t need it.

The pair of them investigated the first few hallways, the complex still appearing to be completely deserted. There were certainly no troops here, though there did seem to be evidence of a droid or two possibly having been left behind. Dust had settled everywhere and Obi-Wan’s footsteps echoed noisily in the cavernous space, mixing with the whirring sounds coming from Artoo.

He paused at the beginning of a new hallway.

He had a very bad feeling about the room he could see ahead of him, the lights on and the blast-doors between him and it were wide open.

“Artoo. Stay here.”

The droid beeped in agreement, wheeling himself over to the side of the hallway to be partially out of sight.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and walked confidently toward whatever awaited him.

He entered a large rectangular space with a high ceiling. The walls were a spotless white like the rest of the building with six large columns lining the room. It looked like an audience chamber of some kind.

“We have been looking for you, Kenobi,” the first Inquisitor said, stepping out into view. She was a tall, pointed woman, who reminded him strongly of Ventress, if lacking in her charm.

Well fuck.

Obi-Wan tried to appear relaxed but was quickly cataloguing his surroundings. He could sense at least three of them and he had very few escape routes. He casually rested his hand on his lightsaber.

“Oh is that so? I’m terribly sorry but I’ve been rather busy,” he replied. “What can I do for you all?”

A second Inquisitor stepped into view and said, “We seek Skywalker.” This one he knew. It was the thin, slimy human man from Jabiim when he’d gone to rescue Ahsoka. The one who’d kicked the hell out of his ribs.

Obi-Wan smiled and shrugged. “Then you’ve found the wrong person.”

“Tell us where he is,” the first insisted in a hiss, her voice low.

“I don’t know where he is.”

“You are _lying_ ,” the man said, and Obi-Wan could _feel_ how they poked and prodded at his shields, searching for weakness. They both felt cold and slick like oil against his senses. he resisted the urge to physically attempt to shake them off him like a cloak.

“Have you all been having a lovely vacation here in the hopes I might come wandering through? That all seems rather unnecessary,” Obi-Wan said with a levity he did not feel. “A little bit flattering too.”

“Our Master desires Skywalker,” the first said, ignoring him.

“Well you may tell your Master that he cannot have him,” Obi-Wan replied.

The first shook her head sadly. “Then you will come with us.”

Obi-Wan stood his ground. “I will do no such thing.”

His hand clasped his ‘saber and pulled it from his belt. Obi-Wan assumed the opening Soresu stance and ignited his blade.

He would die before he let them take him to Sidious.

The man flew at him suddenly, lightsaber ignited, driving Obi-Wan back a few steps. He blocked and parried at every opportunity, taking a few aggressive swings to catalogue the other’s style. There were a few weak points. Perfect. His priority was getting out of here but if he could disable one of them it would at least help.

Then his attention was divided as the tall Dathomirian jumped into the fray. Obi-Wan managed to block their first blow, and barely countered his other assailants attack and he felt a sharp burn as the tip of their lightsaber scratched his skin.

It felt like fighting Maul and Savage again. He could stave them off, but it was hard and took all of his concentration and Obi-Wan knew he wasn’t as well practiced now as he was back then. But hold them off he did, all the while heading backwards towards the entrance.

“Yield!” the man yelled, still on the attack and swingy heavy blows at him.

Obi-Wan said nothing, and—there! He shoved his blade into the opening in the Dathomirian’s form, cutting deeply into her arm and shoving her back a few feet. He hoped it would keep her back long enough to disable the second.

He'd forgotten about the third.

 _Foolish_.

He felt a wave of alarm from the Force, suddenly reminding him of the third attacker, and he rushed to block—

—Something hard slammed across the back of his head and Obi-Wan fell to his knees, slumping sideways as his lightsaber fell from his hand. Everything went a bit fuzzy and he desperately tried not to vomit.

His head pounded and the room swam horribly.

When he regained focus the three of them were standing around him, Obi-Wan’s lightsaber hooked onto the third one’s hip. Now that he could see him, the third Inquisitor appeared to be a Pau'an man, the white, lined skin of his face broken up by red tattoos. He held himself with apparent authority over the other two.

Obi-Wan made an aborted movement in an attempt to get away but the third stepped hard on Obi-Wan’s ankle. He cried out, the sound of his scream overpowering the crunching sound that accompanied it. That was not good. He received another hard knock to his head.

He did throw up that time.

“Sit still,” the Pau’an Inquisitor said coldly.

Obi-Wan could only comply.

He couldn’t let them have him. He _couldn’t_ become bait for Anakin. The choices left were suicide or escape. The latter was worth trying first. His heart beat fast in his chest.

He waited for an opportune moment when the three were more relaxed, standing around him casually, seriously discussing their plan. Obi-Wan feigned more injury and head trauma than he felt, listing where he sat and sinking further towards the ground. Slowly, so as to not arouse suspicion, Obi-Wan gathered every ounce of Force strength he could muster and suddenly flung it out around him. The three Inquisitors were blasted backwards into walls. Obi-Wan took a breath. None of them moved. He summoned his lightsaber and he ran.

He _kriffing hurt_. His ankle screamed in agony at the hard treatment but he had to persist. He’d had worse. He could do this. He had to.

Obi-Wan had just passed through a blast-door when he felt something sharp slice through his side. He cried out and his hand reflexively clasped at the place, only to find a sharpened, silvery disk lodged in the side of his torso.

He looked back to see one of the Inquisitors, the Pau’an, half sat-up on the floor, arm outstretched. Obi-Wan watched in muted horror as the disk suddenly exited his side, flying quickly back toward its master. On the second throw, Obi-Wan managed to dodge out of the way, but the sharp disk sliced into Artoo, the droid beeping hysterically. As the Inquisitor recalled the device for the second time, Obi-Wan crushed the control panel with the force, melting and fusing the parts together. The blast door between him and the Inquisitors slammed shut.

That would buy him a little bit of time. Hopefully long enough to get off planet.

Obi-Wan kept running. He pulled the dregs of his Force ability to the fore and used it to accelerate his speed a bit. Artoo whistled something about systems being damaged, but Obi-Wan didn’t have time for that. He yelled at Artoo to get in one of the half-broken speeders. Artoo whistled in concern, likely worried about the blood he could feel dripping down his side and his rather pronounced limp. Later.

He ran for the nearest speeder he could find, waiting half a second for Artoo to fly on board, and then drove recklessly back to the smugglers spaceport.

He was struggling to breathe as he climbed out of the vehicle, wincing at the movement of his torso and nearly collapsing when he put his right foot on the ground. Definitely broken. Too bad. Artoo wheeled up next to him, beeping at him to lean on him if he had to.

Somehow, and Obi-Wan couldn’t really remember how, they made it to the shipyard. It was slow and it was painful and Obi-Wan was distressingly aware that he was probably leaving a blood trail. He shook violently, his hand clutched at his side, hot and slippery with blood. The wound burned horribly. The adrenaline had worn off and he could feel _all of it:_ the pain in the back of his head, his ankle, his sides. He felt sick and dizzy.

Anakin was going to kill him if he made it home. Every part of him _hurt_ and all he could think about was getting away and surviving. He knew he’d lost too much blood and needed rest, but he had to get off this planet first. He couldn’t let the Inquisitors find him again. Couldn’t let them follow him home. He had to get home.

Obi-Wan found it hard to focus. Hard to breathe. Every movement fucking hurt.

He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and made a hobbled dash across the space port, shoving all pain into the Force. He had to get out of here. He’d promised to come home.

He paused to catch his breath when he made it to cover again.

He needed a plan.

If he could just sneak onto a ship and hide…he could get away. Away was…was most important right now. Obi-Wan hated how he could feel his focus slipping away.

He stood, most of his weight on his uninjured foot while also half leaning on Artoo. Obi-Wan tried to scope out ships, watching the comings and goings. His eyes wouldn’t focus. He felt cold. He had a looming dark feeling that he wasn’t going to make it home.

Obi-Wan felt himself slide further on to Artoo, the poor droid slippery with Obi-Wan’s blood. His vision was going fuzzy and black around the edges.

Artoo was beeping _something_ at him.

He tried to pick a ship. Any ship.

He _had to get home_. Back to Anakin and Padmé. Back to his children.

It couldn’t end here. _Please_. _Force_.

He _had to—_

He took a step forward, desperate to get on a ship, when heard a shout of, “Kenobi!”

Obi-Wan slumped forward as his legs gave out beneath him.

He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, since ya'll are here for this ship anyway and i'm all about shameless self promotion; have some of my recent [Obi-Wan/Padme/Anakin fanart](http://edenwolfie.tumblr.com/post/162523080146/the-whole-gang-is-here) :)


	25. Survivors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a **really** productive four days and smashed this chapter out? Consider it a bribe considering university classes go back next week which means the next one may take me a little while. I also couldn't bring myself to leave you all hanging off that cliff. There were a lot of screams to be found in my inbox this week… Thank you for your screams, I clearly consumed them as sustenance and used their power to write :P
> 
> We are on the home stretch friends; there’s 5 chapters (and _maybe_ an epilogue?) left of this story! Which is crazy!? A year ago I was writing this just for me in my free time; I never thought I’d do anything with it, and yet here we are.
> 
> Once again, a huge thanks and shout out to my beta Matlida_Nicki who continues to do a wonderful job of betaing my word mess! Love your work! <3 And as always, I am happy for constructive criticism regardless :)
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Anakin watched Obi-Wan climb into the speeder beside Jesse with a heaviness nestled in his heart. He could feel a tremor in the Force like an off-key note in a symphony and it worried him. His expression twisted with discontent, he watched them drive away. He was also displeased at the way there was suddenly a thick mental barrier between the two of them. It was easily his least favourite part of Obi-Wan going away.

“Come on, Ani, my love,” Padmé said, clapping her hand on his shoulder, “let’s go calm down those sad babies I can hear.”

Anakin turned his head and finally noticed the distant wailing coming from the half-open door. “They didn’t want Obi-Wan to leave either,” Anakin said sourly.

He’d pulled Padmé aside last night to raise his concerns with her: Obi-Wan didn’t want to go and the Force was being irritatingly pointed about something being wrong.

“We can all discuss it when he gets home,” Padmé had said. “Don’t worry so much.”

Anakin had resisted sighing then, just as he did now. He hoped his worrying was for nothing. He would much prefer being proven wrong than right in this instance.

They both returned inside and spent a short time calming the twins down. Padmé redirected Leia to help her in the kitchen. Luke, however, was utterly distraught at his other father’s absence and could not be dissuaded from crying. Anakin sat on the floor with Luke cradled in his lap, running his fingers through his hair and humming a song to him. He was fairly certain it was one of the bawdy ones he’d heard the troops sing once, but he couldn’t remember the words anyway. Slowly, Luke relaxed in his arms, his loud cries melting into unhappy sobs before he huffed out a final sigh and closed his eyes. Anakin suddenly found himself trapped on the floor with a lapful of sleeping Luke. Oh well. He remained seated, his hand still threading through his son’s hair, the other stroking the side of his face. Luke was so gorgeous.

He heard the comm in his pocket beep as it received a message.

Anakin gently shuffled Luke in his lap so he could reach his pocket, carefully extracting the object to see what it was. There was a message from Kitster on it; their latest acquisition had made it off-world without issue.

Anakin smiled.

* * *

It had begun the day the clones had come back into their lives. The day Anakin had seen the slave woman being struck and yelled at by her master for dropping something. He’d been unable to shake the image from his head, the hatred and outrage slowly simmering in his chest like a boiling pot for days afterwards. He wanted to do _something_ , he desperately wanted to help, to do _anything_. He’d ignored it as best he could for the past couple of years but it was tearing him up from the inside. He _remembered_ what it felt like to be yelled at like that. He _remembered_ how it felt to have no freedom. No hope. Nothing.

Then, an opportunity fell into his lap; he received a hesitant call from a man asking for a cooling unit repair. Anakin agreed and memorised the address. He’d recognised it easily; it was an area of the Slave Quarters Row in Mos Espa. His old home. He’d gone immediately.

When he’d arrived a few hours later, it had been like walking into a vision of the past. Very little had changed, aside from the buildings looking even more worn down. There were still children scattered around the buildings, savouring every small moment they had to themselves. Given that late afternoon was beginning to crawl through the city, there were more adults here than there would have been earlier in the day; some heading home, some seated on the stone stairs, catching their breath in the cooling air.

Anakin felt strangely out of place in his childhood neighborhood.

He walked along the street and paused outside his old home, staring at the steps for a long time, before shaking his head and continuing to his destination. Anakin spotted a middle aged man with grey hair seated on the stairs in front of the address he had been given.

The man who had called and introduced himself as Zan, was still very nervous. Regardless, he greeted Seripas warmly and took him inside.

“Normally I wouldn’t call someone to fix it,” he’d muttered to Anakin as they walked through the house, “but my wife has been very ill and the heat has been making it worse.” Anakin caught a glimpse of the man’s wife laying on a pallet off in another room, pale and motionless. He felt a chill in the Force. Anakin shook it off.

Zan gestured to the run-down cooling unit installed in the main living space. “Here it is.”

The fan was completely shot and coolant was leaking from a hole in the side of the pipe. It was no wonder it wasn’t cooling his house. Anakin solved the problem in under half an hour, replacing the pipe and cleaning the fan of decades worth of dust and grime that had accumulated in all the parts until they couldn’t move.

“What do I owe you?” Zan had asked, and Anakin could see that this man had nothing. He remembered having nothing. He also remembered how much he had disliked it when free-peoples had offered charity; it had felt too much like pity or it was a trap to put you in debt. He’d made that mistake once. Never again.

So, instead of insisting that nothing was owed, he asked for something that was valuable on Tatooine, but easy enough to come by. “A glass of water should even us out.”

Zan froze and looked at Anakin in bemusement. “That’s it?”

“I’m pretty thirsty,” Anakin replied. “It seems fair to me.”

Zan let out a small chuckle and disappeared toward the kitchen, returning with a small cup of water in hand.

Anakin drank it gratefully, before giving the cup back. “Anyone else need something fixed?”

It turned out that there were many other people in the the neighbourhood who needed something fixed. Anakin was immediately dragged next door where the stove was on the fritz, the Twi-lek woman who lived there there labouring over a dinner that just wouldn’t heat properly. She’d been hesitant at having him in the house to begin with, but once Zan spoke to her in hushed tones, she’d pointed him at the stove eagerly.

Anakin had been able to fix it easily, since the main issue was simply some frayed connecting wires. He replaced them before declaring it solved. The Twi-lek had been beside herself, bursting into tears and telling him about how her children had been getting sick because she couldn’t cook anything properly and there were only so many times she could ask to use her neighbours’ stoves. In return, she had offered him a pallie which he had graciously taken.

She mentioned that her friend down the road was having troubles with the power supply in her home and so the three of them had headed over there. This went on for another two hours, Anakin being dragged from house to house and from broken light to broken vaporator to broken heating unit. Each time he was given a glass of water or a piece of food alongside a profession of thanks. Eventually darkness had encroached and Anakin had needed to leave.

However, he’d gone home that night with a light heart and the feeling that he’d finally done something right in his life.

What initially began as a one-off thing, quickly became a weekly excursion; once a week, Anakin took himself down to the Slave Quarters of Mos Espa or Mos Eisley (because word travelled far and fast between slaves) and fixed anything and everything he was pointed at. There was just so much to do; the inhabitants had done their best to keep the area running, but as he had discussed with Owen so long ago, they didn't have the range of skill, knowledge or materials to truly fix anything. Anakin was paid in water and snacks and anything else people chose to part with. He had ended up with a very cute clay sculpture of a Jawa created by the child of one of the people he’d helped. He kept it and placed it on a shelf at home as a memento.

This had gone on for two months before it had escalated into something more. As much as he knew he was helping, Anakin still wanted to do more. In all honesty, he still wanted to do what he’d planned since he was a child. He wanted to free all the slaves. The idea solidified further when he ran into his old friend, Kitster.

Anakin had received a call from a new customer asking him to repair a swoop-bike. He’d arrived at the house in Mos Espa and knocked, assuming the swoop bike was out back since he hadn’t seen one walking to the door.

The door opened to a man with dark skin and black hair that reached just past his ears. He was a few inches shorter than Anakin with a familiar pair of dark brown eyes. It reminded him of…

“Hey, I’m Kitster,” he held his hand out to Anakin. “I’ve heard good things about you, Seripas.”

“Good to meet you, Kitster,” Anakin replied completely on auto-pilot, taking the hand and shaking it. This was weird. He’d never had an issue with anyone calling him Seripas, but coming from an old friend, the name sat awkwardly on his shoulders.

“So the swoop bike…?” Anakin asked, looking expectantly at his former friend.

“Don’t have one,” Kitster said honestly. “I actually just wanted to talk to you.”

Anakin felt his heart thump awkwardly in his chest. “Okay? What about?”

“Come inside?”

Anakin felt out into the Force, feeling out for ill-intentions but found nothing suspicious. He had no real reason to distrust his childhood friend.

“Sure."

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Kitster said, stepping to the side and inviting Anakin into his house. “You repair things for free for the slaves.”

“Kind of,” Anakin said, “they usually pay me in drinks and snacks.”

“Yeah, and that’s a close to free as you’ll ever get on this planet,” Kitster countered, shutting the door behind them and walking Anakin through to a small lounge room. “Please, sit.”

His eyes roved over the room. It was a small house, but it was also clearly not a slave home. The furniture was sparse but in reasonable condition, and Kitster was dressed in clean Tatooine tunics that were pale green in colour. No master would ever have a slave in anything other than the cheapest of browns. It warmed his soul to know that his friend had ended up free.

“So what can I help you with?” Anakin asked.

“Look. I’m trying to find a way to free as many slaves as possible and I need help. From everything I’ve heard, you seem like someone who would be likely to help, or at least know others who would,” Kitster began, his brown eyes lit with fire. “You have contacts and repair skills. I have contacts and _a plan_.”

Anakin resisted grinning like an idiot.

“Before I go any further, are you interested? Would you be willing to help?”

Anakin couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Did you ever do anything with that prize money I gave you?”

Kitster looked at him for a long moment with a frown on his face. Then his eyes went wide. “…Ani?”

Anakin stopped pushing down his smile and his face broke into a stupid grin. “Yeah.”

“I should have fucking known,” Kitster laughed, sitting forward on his chair and clapping Anakin hard on the knee. “And yeah, I did. I used it to learn etiquette and got myself a job at the _Three Moons_. I eventually earned enough money to free myself.” He slapped Anakin’s knee again. “I never thought I’d see you again. You were some hot-shot Jedi General last I heard. What the kriffing hell are you doing back here?”

Anakin nodded. “My family and I are in hiding because I _was_ a General before the Emperor decided to purge the Jedi from the galaxy.”

The two of them traded stories for a while, catching up on each others lives, though Anakin left out anything particularly sensitive or private. He was so pleased to learn that his final gift to Kitster had helped him escape slavery and make whatever he wanted of his life. Apparently he’d worked as a smuggler for a few years, hence him also having a number of contacts, but hadn’t enjoyed the work. He'd returned to Tatooine and picked up his old job at the _Three Moons._ Back on Tatooine, and once again facing the ongoing reality of slavery, Kitster had begun devising his plan. He, like Anakin, felt a strong pull of responsibility to these people. No-one deserved to live like this.

The two former slaves began to put their plans together. The overall scheme would be to buy and free slaves wherever possible. Anakin still had much of what he and Ahsoka had won from last pod race stashed away. Ahsoka had given him the vast majority since she had little use for it. Kitster had also been stashing his paycheques away for years, so he had a small bank of funds they could use. They also decided that gambling was possibly a way forward as well; many slavers and slave owners would fall back on their ‘property’ when they lost too many games and, given that Anakin could easily influence the outcomes of a dice roll, it was certainly feasible. It had worked for Qui-Gon, so Anakin didn’t see any reason why it shouldn’t work for him. From there, Kitster already had a plan and had recruited Brato to his cause, the doctor quickly agreeing to remove the detonator chips from anyone they brought to him. All they had to do was set up a underground transport network to get the slaves they freed and de-chipped off planet. Given the number of people and smugglers Anakin now knew from his repair work, he had very few doubts he could set something up.

They parted ways, friends once again, and set forward on their united purpose. Between the two of them, they managed to set up a few paths off-world within a week and began freeing people the week after that.

 _Finally_ Anakin was doing something.

Then, a few months later, Obi-Wan had basically agreed to _marry_ him and Padmé which had been…well…unbelievable.

And Anakin felt _so very guilty_.

He hadn’t told them about fixing things for free in the Slave Quarters because he hadn’t thought it particularly newsworthy and, if he really thought about it, it embarrassed him. Poor little old Anakin, an ex-slave trying to help in any way he could… But now he was staging a slow, quiet exodus of slaves in the hopes of one day sparking enough resistance that they could rise up and overthrow the whole corrupt, evil system.

He just couldn’t bring himself to tell them.

Anakin was _finally,_ for what felt like the first time in his life, _doing the right thing_. He was _helping people_ and making a positive difference in their lives. He couldn’t stop, but he would if they asked him to.

So he didn’t tell them.

He loved and trusted Obi-Wan and Padmé, but neither of them had ever been particularly supportive when he’d brought up the issue of slavery. Obi-Wan had blamed the Jedi; unable to do kriffing anything without a directive from the Senate. Then they’d been at war and with what was essentially a slave army—and did _no-one else realise how fucked up that was?_ Padmé had also blamed the system, always telling him that the Senate would never decide to help such an issue when there were so many more pressing ones; plus it was mainly a Hutt-space problem, which didn’t generally fall under their jurisdiction.

Time and time again, the both of them, and everyone else around him, had decided it wasn’t something they could do anything about. It was always someone else's problem.

Now it was Anakin’s problem, and he was going to kriffing well do something about it.

He continued to make a weekly trip to the Slave Quarters to fix things in exchange for snacks, and slowly made himself a recognisable, trustworthy figure so that when he or Kitster approached people to offer to try and free them, it wasn’t treated with suspicion or hostility. Very few people turned them down, and the ones that did tended to be older generations who pointed them towards others who they thought needed more help.

Since starting their little enterprise nearly nine months ago, the two of them, with the help of Brato and their smuggler contacts, had managed to free thirty-odd people and get them off planet and further into the Core. Anakin didn’t feel particularly good about sending them _towards_ the Empire, but it was lightyears better than slavery. He and Kitster often sent them with credits and a few supplies, plus Kitster would give them a contact to meet wherever they were going to help them find work.

Now, quiet word of their work had gotten out, and a few others had offered to help them in any way they could. One of the now free slaves, an older human woman named Ishti with long dark hair, had chosen not to get off-world and had instead volunteered to do what they did, adding another person their roster. This helped in two ways; it gave them another person who could find ways to free others, and Ishti used the contacts and friends she’d made as a slave to spread the word and find out who was most in need of rescuing.

Most of the time, their system went off without a hitch. Sometimes, slavers would be an issue, unwilling to part with their property when won in gambling, but a few threats of taking the issue up with Jabba made them back off pretty quickly. They’d had some issue at the Boonta Eve Classic when Ishti had managed to win a pair of slaves, a mother and daughter, from a Spice dealer before the race, but was now refusing to hand over ownership. Anakin had let his mind go in the Force, asking it for guidance. He’d then told her to ‘double or nothing’ bet on the Theronian racer coming first. She’d looked at him skeptically, but nodded and went back, winning the freedom for both women. They managed to de-chip then pair and get them sent to Seltos within the week.

All they had to do now was continue to stay under the radar of the Hutts.

* * *

A day or two after Obi-Wan had left, Bail contacted them to say that their guests would be arriving over the next week or so. Anakin had personally resigned himself to the fact that these guests would arrive when they arrived, and not before. He still had reservations about taking them in, but Padmé’s comment had really gotten to him.

_We also can’t abandon people we could help!_

That had pulled Anakin up short. It was the exact thought he kept having when he was convincing himself that what he and Kitster was the right thing, particularly when he felt guilty about not telling his partners.

They would appear eventually and they could deal with whatever issues they brought as they came.

Obi-Wan contacted them a couple of times over that week; Anakin was out on a repair job for the first one, but was thankfully home for the second. Obi-Wan told them all about what he had found on the planet, and how the base was as deserted as the last one had been. Anakin still couldn’t shake the ominous feeling about this mission, but Obi-Wan seemed positive about it all, so Anakin pushed away his anxieties and focused on how good it would be for him to be home again.  

The very next day their new visitors arrived.

Anakin was cleaning the filter on one of the vaporators when he heard the telltale hum of a speeder in the distance. He frowned and turned to examine the approaching vehicle. They weren’t due for another bribe to that Hutt _kung_ for at least another six months. Then Anakin’s brain kicked into gear; their guests.

Anakin quickly tapped the filter to half-ass the cleaning job and quickly reattached it to the main structure. That done, he jogged back toward the house to direct their guests towards the other vehicles. As the speeder closed in on his location, he was able to recognise it as Carron’s—he’d repaired that thing last week. Carron was driving with an entourage of people packed into the car. All of them were wrapped in scraps and coverings to keep the sand from their eyes.

“Hey Carron,” Anakin said, walking closer to the vehicle as it pulled to a stop. “Speeder working better now?”

“Much better, Seripas,” Carron replied, tapping the steering wheel confidently. “Runs like a dream. I was just dropping your guests off, they seemed in need of a ride. More family coming to stay?”

Their family seemed to have gained a faintly odd reputation once the three clones had been identified as living with them. They explained it away as them being Aurra’s triplet cousins, but Anakin wasn’t entirely sure people bought that. It didn’t help that Ahsoka was also recognised as being part of their group. Stranger things happened on Tatooine everyday though, so it was at least accepted as a pretence.

“Family friends,” Anakin replied, watching them climb from the speeder.

There were three adult sized figures and four others of varying heights. Anakin extended his Force sense outward but met resistance. Interesting. Once they and their bags were out of the back, Anakin turned back to Carron.

“Thanks for dropping them off,” Anakin said. “Do I owe you anything?”

Carron shook his head. “Nah, they paid back in town. Anyway, I’ve got to be getting home.

Anakin gave him a wave and watched Carron turn the speeder around and drive back toward the horizon.

“Hello Anakin,” came a deep, modulated voice to his left.

Anakin turned and came face to face with Plo Koon slowly unwrapping the coverings from his head revealing his familiar face, the orange skin around his eyes crinkled in the way Anakin recognised as happiness.

“Plo!” Anakin exclaimed, his face breaking into a unrestrained grin. His soul felt as though it was expanding from within. Anakin surged forward, ready to wrap Plo in a tight embrace, but a pair of hands suddenly gripped his shoulder.

“Hello Wolffe,” Anakin said, looking up into the scarred face of Plo’s Commander.

“No hugging, Skywalker,” Wolffe told him seriously. “He has enough trouble breathing as it is.”

Plo batted him out of the way, pulling Anakin into a light hug anyway. “He’s rather protective,” Plo chuckled.

Anakin turned to examine the final adult and came face to face with a smiling Mirialan woman. She wore tight black pants and a loose brown tunic, with a mismatching purple scarf that was now just wrapped around her head, with much of it blowing freely in the wind.

“Luminara,” Anakin greeted.

“Hello, Anakin,” she returned and gave him a gentle smile. Her face was exactly how he remembered it, bar the new, large scar that tracked down her right cheek and over her chin, just missing her tattoos.

“Who else do we have here?” he asked, peering around the adults to the others.

“Children,” Plo said as a young blue face peered around back at him.

“Might we come inside?” Luminara asked. “It has been a very long journey.”

“Of course. Please.” Anakin grabbed two of the bags within his reach, and led the group toward the house.

He held the door open as the two Jedi, one Clone trooper and four children scurried into the house. “Sit wherever you want,” Anakin said and gently placed the bags by the door.

Plo, Wolffe and the eldest child sat on the couch nearest to the front door, while Luminara and the two middle children piled onto the other couch. The smallest child clambered up to sit on Luminara’s lap.

“Ani, have you seen my—oh.” Padmé appeared through the door to the stairs, stopping in her tracks. She smiled. “I see our guests have arrived.” He watched her eyes fell on Plo. “Oh my goodness, Plo?”

Plo froze. “Senator Amidala?”

Padmé smiled back at him. “Just call me Padmé.”

“You’re dead,” Wolffe said bluntly.

“No.” Padmé laughed. “One day that’s not going to be how _everyone_ greets me.”

She then turned back down the stairs and called, “Hey! Kix! Get up here!”

Wolffe immediately sat a little taller in his seat. Padmé came further into the room and pulled a pair of chairs from the dining table for her and Anakin to sit at.

“I now understand why Bail refused to give us the names of our guests,” Padmé said thoughtfully.

Kix then appeared at the top of the stairs and halted, his eyes scanning over the room before he spotted— “Wolffe!”  

The two men moved suddenly, Wolffe pushing up from the chair and Kix surging forward. They caught each other in a tight embrace, thumping each other on the back.

Now that they were all here, Anakin could examine them properly.

Plo looked, for lack of a better word, terrible. The majority of the right hand side of his face had been badly burned and the face mask that enabled him to breathe was equally damaged. The metal was oddly twisted in places, and sections of the tarnished parts contrasted strangely with the newer modifications. It had clearly be heavily damaged by something and been hastily repaired. Anakin could hear how his breathing rasped from across the room.

Wolffe was still nearby, now perched on the edge of the couch muttering to Kix, in a pose that said he was still closely watching his General while giving the illusion of giving his attention to his brother. He still looked as serious as ever.

Luminara looked exhausted. The skin beneath her eyes was a shade darker than the rest of her and she was definitely thinner than he remembered her being.

Of the four children, he didn't recognise three of them; one appeared to be around the age of five while the other two looked to be around twelve. The youngest was a human girl with a dark, freckled complexion, wrapped in a loose, pale blue dress. Of the two tweens, one was a deep green Nautolan boy and the other a blue Twi-lek girl. Both of them were wearing plain pants and matching grey tunics. He recognised the fourth as Depa’s Padawan. Caleb, or something similar. Anakin could only assume Depa hadn’t survived and the thought sat heavily in his chest. All four children were sitting ramrod straight in their seats, their eyes darting nervously around the room.

“Kix, did you want to show the young ones their new living space?” Anakin asked.

All of the kids head whipped around, all four looking worriedly between Kix and Anakin.

“I’ll help. Come on, Zaria,” Wolffe said, standing up and taking the little girl’s hand from Luminara’s clothing. The rest of the children fell in line, clearly deciding that if Wolffe was okay with it, then they were too. The two clones and the four children vanished down the stairs.

When their steps had faded into the distance, Anakin heard the calls echoing up the stairs.

“Dad!” came a pair of voices.

Never a moment's peace around here. Anakin sighed. “I’d better see what they want. Nap time is clearly done.”

“I think they’re nearly past afternoon naps to be honest,” Padmé said.

Anakin smiled awkwardly at the two Jedi Masters and hurried downstairs. When he got into the room, both children had already gotten out of bed and had the door open. Luke and Leia stood in the hallway, looking up and down it in excitement.

“Dad, we heard kids. Ar’there kids here?” she asked excitedly. “Can we play wi’the kids?

“Yes, our guests have arrived and some of them are children, Leia,” Anakin told her.

Both of them let out a gasp of excitement and pushed past him, running at full tilt up the stairs to the lounge room. Anakin followed after them, coming into the room to find Luke standing in the middle of the room, staring at their guests, while Leia half hid behind her mother.

“Sorry, they escaped me,” Anakin said, shutting the door behind him.

“Dad, you said there was kids!” Leia said, pouting.

“There are,” Anakin replied. “They went downstairs with Kix to see their new home.”

Anakin looked over to watch Plo Koon reach out a long hand and offer it to Luke who was staring at him in utter fascination.

“Hello! I’m Luke, and tha’s Leia. We are, um, three,” his son said proudly. “Who’re you? Where’re you from?”

“Hello Luke,” Plo said in his deep voice. His face crinkled happily as Anakin’s son took his hand, Luke’s small hand wrapping around one of Plo’s fingers. “I am Plo Koon. I’m originally from Dorin, though I lived most of my life on Coruscant.”

“I wanna see Crosant,” Luke said. “Daddy showed me pictures. I wanna see all the planets but Dad won’t take us.”

“Coruscant is not a very nice place at the moment,” Plo explained. “You might want to wait on visiting.”

“Oh. Okay,” Luke replied and then turned to Luminara, his hand still gripping Plo’s finger. “Who’re you?”

Anakin moved to sit beside Padmé again, Leia scrambling up after him to seat herself on his lap.

“I’m Luminara Unduli.”

“Lumaradulie,” Luke echoed.

She smiled and tried again, “Luminara.”

“Luminara,” Luke copied, comically slowly and focusing very seriously. “S’a pretty name.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Luke.”

Clearly satisfied, Luke went back to investigating Plo Koon’s hand who was very patiently letting it happen.

“So I can only assume they are yours?” Luminara asked, looking from the twins to Anakin and Padmé.

Anakin nodded awkwardly. “Uh. Yeah. They are.” He had never imagined himself in such a situation. Before the Jedi Purge Anakin had figured he would have left the Order by the time the twins were born…though looking back, he’d been cutting it all rather close.

Padmé rolled her eyes and straightened in her seat. “Anakin and I have been married since the start of the war, so yes, they’re ours.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then Plo Koon broke into laughter. A deep, rasping, rattling sound which Luke stared at in fascination. His antiox mask clearly struggled with with heavy breathing and Plo had to quickly bring himself back under control.

“Oh, Anakin,” Plo said, his voice still tinged with humour. “You never do things by halves, do you.”

Anakin shrugged. “Not really, no.”

“How did you both end up out here?” Luminara asked.

Anakin sighed to himself. Time to play the ‘dancing-around-the-truth’ game.

He told them of escaping the Temple during the incursion ( _liar,_ his mind chanted at him) and collecting Padmé from her home. He then told them of how Bail had picked up Obi-Wan after he had escaped Utapau ( _truth_ ) and how Padmé had contacted her longtime friend who had reunited them with Obi-Wan ( _lie)._ The lies sat cold and heavy in his chest, but it was better than either of them knowing the truth. So much of it was his fault.

“Obi-Wan is here?” Luminara asked suddenly, eyes bright.

“Normally, yes,” Padmé replied. “He’s off on a task for Bail’s rebellion at the moment. He’ll be back within a week or two.”

Luminara nodded and Anakin watched Luke climb up onto the couch to sit beside Plo. The Kel Dor had always been excellent with younglings and let Luke settle beside him.

Anakin continued, relaying how they had stayed with his family before they found a home and moved out here. He explained their covers as moisture farmers with him working a repair business on the side, how Kix worked as a local doctor, and that Rex and Jesse were also off working for the rebellion with Ahsoka.

“So how did you all…” Anakin trailed off.

“Survive?” Luminara finished for him.

Anakin nodded, his mouth set in a thin line.

“I was at the Bestine Base when the firing started and I felt—“ she trailed off and then shook her head, her eyes catching on the twins. “I managed to escape through the maintenance tunnels and get off world as soon as possible. I foolishly decided to try to head for the Core and return to Coruscant. I made it all the way in after a couple of months and was nearly into the Temple when your Padawan waylaid me,” she said with a smile at Anakin. “Ahsoka filled me in on everything had happened and introduced me to Bail Organa. They’ve been bouncing us around the galaxy ever since, trying to keep us alive and out of the Empire’s hands.”

“Wolffe saved me,” Plo said, picking up the conversation, his large hand petting Luke’s blond hair. “I was in my one-man ship on Cato Neimoidia when my men shot me down. Wolffe’s chip didn’t quite work properly; he knew the order was there, but it wasn’t strong enough to control him most of the time. He rescued me from the ship as soon as he could, got us off planet and found me a medic.” Plo gestured to the burn scars on the right side of his face. Anakin suspected there was more beneath his clothes. “We ran for about a year until we came across one of Organa’s rebel cells who put us in contact with him. He directed the two of us to Luminara and the children.”

“Where _did_ the children come from?” Padmé asked softly, her eyes faintly wet. Anakin gently put his hand on her knee.

“Caleb, the eldest one, was on a mission with Depa. From what I have pieced together, Depa gave her life to let him escape and he headed to Coruscant like I did, following that initial signal to return home. Ahsoka found him too,” Luminara explained. “We think Zaria was in the Temple though we have no idea how she escaped. Somehow she ended up with Bail and he handed her and Caleb over to me when we met on Coruscant. Zatt and Aulu had been on a training exercise with Master Sinube and a clone escort. They made it to the escape pods but were picked up by smugglers. We met by chance in a spaceport on Bandomeer.”

“Do you know if anyone else survived?” Plo asked.

“Obi-Wan ran into Vos…just over a year ago? Yoda is alive. Otherwise, we have no idea.”

“That’s good to hear.” Luminara nodded. “I came across Vos as well.”

There was a long silence that stretched between them, with only the rattle of Plo’s damaged mask trying to filter oxygen from the air filling the quiet.

“Your antiox mask doesn’t sound too good,” Anakin noted trying to drag the conversation away from the black hole they’d fallen into. “Would you like me to see if I can fix it?”

“Please,” Plo replied. “I have become tired of passing out unexpectedly. Wolffe has become very good at catching me.”

Anakin smiled. “It will probably take a while of you sitting still while I look at it. Would tomorrow be okay?”

“Tomorrow sounds wonderful,” Plo said.

“Excellent. Now, let us take you downstairs to your rooms, you both look exhausted,” Padmé said, standing up.

“We can meet th’other kids now?” Leia asked, speaking for the first time and bounding from her father’s lap.

“Yes, dear.”

Luke launched from the couch yelling, “Yippee!” and the pair of the dashed toward the stairs, the door swinging open without either of them touching it. Anakin sighed.

“I see they inherited the Force from their father,” Luminara noted.

Anakin nodded. “We’re all very aware of it.”

As they walked downstairs, Anakin regaled the two of them with tales of the twins’ burgeoning Force ability and how Ahsoka had been teaching them to control it. Anakin could practically feel the waves of pride coming from Plo.

When they entered the bottom floor, they found the twins already babbling wildly at the other children. Luke had approached the Twi’lek girl—Aulu if he followed Luminara’s story correctly—speaking too fast for Anakin to follow, while Leia had seemingly introduced herself to Zaria. Anakin noticed how Padmé was smiling.

“Who are they?” Caleb asked, looking squarely at the twins. “Did you rescue them from the Temple?”

“No, they're ours,” Anakin said, wrapping his hand around Padmé’s waist.

Caleb’s head whipped up to look at him with a frown, but said nothing.

“Alright,” Luminara began and all four head swivelled around to her. “Let’s organise sleeping arrangements.”

There was then a flurry of movement and a swell of chatter as the seven of them divided themselves between the four rooms. Plo and Wolffe decided to share the first door on the left. The two younger teens, Zatt and Aulu, took the room beside that. Luminara and Zaria took the room on the end which left Caleb his own room next to the bathroom. Since the Skywalker household hadn’t been sure how the sleeping situation would play-out, they had acquired seven single mattresses and piled them on the wall of the lounge room. Once rooms were decided, Anakin, Padmé, and Kix helped drag them into the appropriate rooms.

When it was all done, they stood in the centre of the lounge room at a loss of what to do next.

“Thank you for taking us in,” Caleb said, and Anakin watched as the other three children nodded in agreement.

“It’s no problem,” Padmé assured him before turning to address the group as a whole. “Now, please, take some time to rest. We’ll worry about making dinner tonight, and then we can work out something more permanent tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Luminara said, and Wolffe and Plo gave her a respectful nod.

“Luke, Leia, it’s time to go back upstairs and let our visitors have a nap,” Anakin said, scooping Leia up into his arms. “You can talk to them again later.”

“Awwww,” Luke whined, but followed his father to the door.

Padmé and Anakin managed to keep them entertained by roping them into helping cook dinner. Feeding twelve people was never an easy job, so they decided on making a huge pot of soup and some bread to go with it. Luke was given the important job of lining up the vegetables before Anakin cut them up, while Leia carefully measured out the bread ingredients. She ended up wearing much of the flour, but she was happy. When their guests reappeared late in the evening, they all looked more refreshed.

Their table only seated ten, so Leia ended up on Plo’s lap and Luke on Padmé’s. There was very little talking as their guests scoffed down the food, the children in particular were clearly desperate for a proper meal. Zatt was practically moaning in happiness as he drank down the soup and shovelled as much bread as he could fit into his mouth at once. These were children who hadn’t eaten well in a long time. Anakin recognised how he must have looked for the first few weeks in the Temple.

Luke and Leia mainly carried the conversation, telling their guests all about their home; how they fixed the big vaporators outside everyday, how they sometimes got to pet and feed the banthas that came through, how they practiced their kata’s with Auntie Soka (this in particular drew the interest of the other children), and how Daddy sometimes went away for work. Zaria, who was easily the closest to the twins in age, took a shine to them, especially after Luke offered to share their toys with her.

Dinner wound down and their new housemates began to flag again. Clearly a warm, hearty meal had ticked that final box and all seven of them looked ready for a long sleep. Anakin and Padmé wished them a good-night and left them to their own devices. Kix went downstairs with Wolffe while Threepio excused himself to recharge.

Anakin and Padme spent a short time curled up on the couch with Luke and Leia between them, still talking excitedly about having new friends, before they put the twins down for the night, and then retreated to their own bedroom.

“What are we going to tell them about Obi-Wan and us?” Anakin asked quietly later that night as they lay in bed, wrapped in the blankets and facing one another. The bed still felt empty without their third.

“I don’t think we should tell them when he’s not here,” Padmé said softly. “That doesn’t seem fair. I suppose we keep it to ourselves and discuss it with him next time he calls. He should be checking in in the next couple of days.”

“Sounds good,” Anakin agreed. He pressed a final soft kiss to her lips, his hand running through her hair before they switched off the light and went to sleep.

* * *

The next week passed in a tense blur.

The very next morning saw Luminara go into town with Padmé and Kix to do some grocery shopping and acquaint Luminara with the local area. They had all decided that it would be easier if they fed the two groups separately, so Luminara was shopping for her group, and Padmé was shopping for theirs. It also meant Padmé wouldn’t let any of the shopkeepers scam Luminara just because she was clearly from off-world.

Anakin spent the whole day working on Plo’s antiox mask. He was able to identify the issues very quickly, but considering he had to keep the whole thing functional while attached to his friend’s face so he didn’t die; it was a tricky operation. Wolffe hovered nearby for the whole operation, Luke watching in fascination from the clone’s lap.

It was slow work, Anakin replacing parts and fixing minor damage with careful hands. Plo spoke quietly to him throughout, the two of them trading stories from the last three years, mainly about the strange things the kids got up to. From all the stories however, it was clear to Anakin that Plo and Luminara were still treating them like Jedi younglings and padawans, instead of what they were; lost children.

In Anakin’s heart, that felt wrong. There were no Jedi anymore. Force sensitive and powerful individuals yes, but the _community_ and the _system_ was gone. To continue to raise these children as though they could become Jedi was…well, wrong. They were setting all four of them up to fail in a galaxy that didn't want them.

There didn’t seem much that he could do about it however. The four children seemed to keep to themselves and mainly passed the time on their own floor. Caleb was the only one who ventured out on occasion, and Anakin found the boy quietly watching him go about his day. Anakin had had a few brief conversations with him, but he seemed to make the former padawan nervous and so tried not to push him. Luke and Leia thought their new guests were the best thing to ever happen in the history of the galaxy. The pair could most often been found downstairs playing with Zaria or talking animatedly with Plo.

By the end of that first day, Anakin had Plo’s mask working again, and Padmé had set Luminara and the others up with enough food and easy recipes for at least a week. Threepio had all but moved in with their new Jedi entourage, pleased to be able to help them with any and all tasks. Anakin and Padme didn’t use him all that often, both of them preferring to do things themselves, and all of the clones seemed to dislike asking him for anything. The protocol droid was strangely chuffed to make dinner and tidy up after the children, especially with Artoo gone.

Four days after their guests had arrived, Anakin was teetering on a knife's edge. Obi-Wan was now days behind on checking in.

He was near tearing his hair out in worry because Obi-Wan had _promised_ to call and he _hadn’t_ and that wasn’t _normal_. He'd tried contacting Artoo earlier in the day but the message had bounced back to him and Anakin couldn’t think of a reasonable explanation as to why. He’d called Bail to see if he knew anything else, but the senator had no news. Anakin had then been desperate enough to try and contact Qui-Gon, but he received no answer from the ghost. So here Anakin was, leaning against the wall of his house and sitting in the sand at what must be at least midnight, worried out of his head.

Padmé had been asleep when he’d crawled out of bed, feeling that if he didn’t get out of there soon he was going to scream or shake the bed apart. Padmé had also seemed quietly worried; he’d periodically caught her staring hopefully out the window or at their long-range comm. She, however, seemed to be trying to downplay it to comfort Anakin, which in the long run, was just making Anakin _more_ worried.

Currently, his leg was bouncing uncontrollably as he tried to distract himself with working on his prosthetic arm. It didn’t need work, but Anakin needed to do something.

“Master Skywalker?”

Anakin’s head swivelled up to see Caleb standing just outside the door looking down at him in interest.

“Can’t sleep either?” Anakin asked.

“Yeah,” Caleb said. “I sensed you were awake. I thought you might like company?”

Anakin patted the sand beside him.

“Thank you, Master Skywalker.”

“Call me Anakin. I’m not master of anyone anymore.”

“Anakin.”

Caleb sat down beside him, wrapping the thick poncho he was wearing around himself.

“What do you think of Tatooine?” Anakin asked, snapping all the openings on his arm closed.

“Too hot during the day, too cold at night.” He shrugged. “It’s nice not to be constantly on watch for Stormtroopers though.”

“That’s fair.”

A long period of quiet stretched between them. Anakin silently watched the way Caleb sat as close to him as possible without touching him, while hugging his jumper tightly and staring sightlessly at his feet. Anakin felt out in the Force toward the boy and felt roiling waves of confusion and sadness.

“Are you doing okay, Caleb?” Anakin asked.

Caleb nodded sharply. “Of course. I meditated before bed.”

Force preserve him from this again.

Right.

“Okay. Caleb, I want you to come with me on a little adventure.”

The young man perked up at that, turning to look at Anakin in interest. Anakin stood and offered Caleb his hand, tugging him up. The moon was full and bright that evening so they had no need for a torch as Anakin led Caleb up along the ridge above the house and down into their training cave. Anakin fumbled around in the darkness for a moment before he found the switch to the generator and the space was illuminated around them.

“This is awesome,” Caleb muttered, staring around in awe.

“Yup,” Anakin agreed. “This is our training cave.”

Caleb walked around the space with inquisitive eyes, his fingers brushing over the targets on the walls, before returning to Anakin.

“So what’s the adventure?”

“I want you to think about the last three years,” Anakin said and didn’t miss the way Caleb twitched beside him. “Once you’ve got all those feelings about what has happened to your life all trapped in your chest, I want you to scream as _loud as you can_ into the dark part of the cave.”

Caleb stared at him. “Really?”

“Yeah, I’m going to do it to.”

“Why?”

“I’m worried about things too.” Anakin grinned. “It’ll make us both feel better.”

“Jedi aren’t meant to give into our feelings like that.”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Kriff that.”

Caleb’s own turquoise eyes went wide for a moment, and then he grinned up at Anakin, eyes and smile bright with excitement.

“Okay. Time to feel all those feelings. You ready?”

Caleb nodded.

The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes.

Anakin let all his fear and anger and worry about Obi-Wan bubble up in his chest. He could feel the same going on in Caleb, the Force around him moving erratically and becoming more powerful. When he thought that was enough, Anakin nodded at him and both of them _screamed_.

The cave walls reverberated with their voices, creating a wall of anguished sound. Anakin let go of all his worries for a few long moments, screaming them out into the black void before them. Caleb screamed like a champion, hands fisted at his sides as he leaned into the sound, letting it all go.

Caleb was laughing by the end of it; tears in his eyes and red splotches on his cheeks, grinning at Anakin like everything in the galaxy was okay. Then, unsurprisingly to Anakin, Caleb broke into tears.

The young man dropped to the floor with his head in his hands, crying and shaking on the cold stone floor. “I miss her,” Caleb sobbed angrily, “I miss her so much. I wish none of this had ever happened.”

“You’re allowed to miss her,” Anakin said quietly, sitting beside Caleb and placing a hand on his shoulder. “What happened wasn’t fair or right.” They sat on the floor for some time longer, Anakin sitting beside Caleb in silent comfort and support.

“Feel better?” Anakin asked when Caleb stopped crying and hastily wiped at his face with his sleeve.

“Yeah, a bit,” he replied. “You?”

“A bit.” Anakin smiled. “I’ll feel better when Obi-Wan gets home.”

“You know, you’re not how I imagined you being,” Caleb said quietly. “I always thought 'The Hero with No Fear’ would be more serious.”

“Not a chance,” Anakin laughed. “I was never very good at being a Jedi in the first place.”

“No? All the Padawans I knew looked up to you and Master Kenobi.”

Anakin looked at this young man who’d had his life pulled out from under him for a long moment, his eyes watching Anakin with wonder. This was the time to be honest. “Well, Obi-Wan was a pretty good Jedi. I tried to be, but I was never very good at resisting attachments…or managing my emotions…or following orders. I also got into a lot of fights with the other Padawans when I first came to the temple, though to be fair, they usually started it.”

Caleb smiled. “Same here.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Caleb confirmed. He was silent for a thoughtful moment. “Do you think there will ever be Jedi again? Like, the way it was?”

“I don’t know. Either way, I don’t want to be a Jedi anymore,” Anakin replied honestly. “I have what I want; a family and a home. Not being a Jedi also doesn’t mean I’m suddenly not going to help people. I help a lot of people on Tatooine. Besides, the only person we _were_ we helping by fighting a war for the Republic was our now Emperor Palpatine who ordered us killed when we outlived our use.”

Caleb nodded, his eyes dropping to his hands.

“I just don’t know what to do,” he said finally, barely above a whisper.

“Whatever you want, buddy,” Anakin replied, but knew that for the immediate future, that was utterly useless advice. “You want me to teach you how to fix a vaporator tomorrow”

Caleb smiled at Anakin. “Yes please.”

From that night onward, Anakin gained himself a little dark-haired shadow. Caleb followed after him whenever he was home, helping in whatever Anakin was doing. As promised, the pair of them spent the next day going around the farm and tinkering with the moisture vaporators. They started with the nearest one, Anakin completely pulling it apart and showing Caleb what all the parts were and how they fit together as a whole. Luke joined them for the lesson, listening along just as eagerly and muttering at Caleb. His new shadow drank down each piece of information, quickly able to pick up the information and parrot it back to Anakin.

Then Caleb had asked about the twins.

He began his inquisition on the fifth vaporator, pointing out to Anakin that he had _done the math_ , and that Luke and Leia had to have been born really soon after 66. Anakin had handed Caleb a screwdriver and pointed him at the metal casing, while confirming that yes, they had been, and yes, that did also mean that he and Padmé had had a secret relationship going on behind the scenes of the war.

Caleb had nodded slowly and let the conversation drop, focusing back on the vaporator. They worked their way around the field, Caleb becoming more and more autonomous in his work, only occasionally double-checking a choice with Anakin.

After another day of this, Caleb seemed to be doing much better than he had been a week ago. He was at the very least, focused on something other than the hell that the past few years had been. It was also keeping Anakin from worrying himself sick over Obi-Wan.

Then Obi-Wan came home. In a way.

* * *

Padmé and Anakin were curled up on the couch talking about nothing, with Wolffe seated at the table reading through a book that Kix had handed him. Padmé had grinned when she saw the cover, recognising it as one of the trashy romance novels Jeina had given her months and months ago. Evidently, it had made the rounds from Jesse (who had found it in the first place when Padmé had finished and abandoned it in the lounge room) to the other clones.

Anakin was tracing circles on Padmé’s palm, once again trying his damnedest not to stare at the long range communicator.

Padmé tucked her head into Anakin’s shoulder. “So Ani, there was something I wanted to discuss with—”

A bang sounded as something hit the front door.

All three of them startled upright in their seats and whipped their heads around to the sound. Padmé was tense beneath his hand, her hand gripping his tightly.

“What the...?”

Frantic beeping came through the wood; _Open. Open. Open._

“Artoo!” Anakin cried, leaping from the couch and wrenching open the door to see—

“Skywalker!” came Hondo’s loud cry.

Anakin stopped in his tracks, the smile freezing on his face. Kriff _no_. The Weequay pirate grinned back at him, his mouth really the only thing not covered. His helmet and goggles protected most of his face while his easily recognisable jacket, while tarnished, covered the rest of him.

From behind him he heard Padmé gasp and shriek, “Kix!”

Anakin’s eyes dropped and found what caused her reaction.

 _Obi-Wan_.

He was half propped in Hondo’s grip, streaked with dried blood and bruises and was clearly unconscious. Anakin reached out into the Force only to find a faint presence of his partner. Anakin had to remind himself to breathe.

“I think this belongs to you,” Hondo said, hoisting Obi-Wan onto Anakin.

Anakin’s heart lodged itself in his throat and he clutched Obi-Wan to him, trying to hold him as gingerly as possible. As quickly and as gently as he could, Anakin rearranged him so he could carry him, before returning inside and depositing him on the couch. Kix appeared at the top of the stairs, took in the situation with a glance, swore, and then vanished downstairs yelling that he was going to get his kit.

Anakin pressed a kiss to Obi-Wan’s forehead, attempting to calm himself.

“What a _love-ly_ home you have here,” Hondo drawled, his eyes dragging over every item in the room.

“What happened to him?” Anakin asked, fingers clenching his sleeves.

“You know how it _is,”_ Hondo said, “you run into a _dear_ old friend—”

“What! Happened!” Anakin yelled, launching up from the ground and fisting his hand in the front of Hondo’s shirt, pulling him closer.

Hondo just laughed and deftly wriggled out of Anakin’s grip as Padmé said, “Anakin, take a breath and leave him alone. We need to help Obi-Wan. Harass him later.” He could hear how her words wavering a little on the edges. He needed to focus.

Wolffe was watching the whole thing with a wary eye, still seated at the table.

“ _Thank_ you my dear, and aren’t you a bea _utiful_ lady—”

“Try it and I will shoot you,” Padmé countered.

Hondo snapped his mouth shut but kept on grinning.

Kix reappeared, medical kit in hand, the door swinging open violently and banging on the wall. Padmé cringed as loud crying began downstairs.

“I’ve got it,” Wolffe said and excused himself from the situation.

Kix pulled the caf table closer to the couch, sat down on it, and began investigating Obi-Wan.

“What happened?” Kix asked, voice clear and brooking no argument while he inspected wounds and cut through his clothes.

“Ah if only I knew,” Hondo said with forced sincerity. “I found him like this in the Rori spaceport—a lovely place, you should all go sometime. He was _quite_ unconscious and I thought, ‘Hondo, this man is worth much more _alive’_ so I grabbed him; never could resist his handsome, Jedi face.” Hondo scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Unfortunately this _droid_ followed us, hacked my ship and brought us on a roundabout trip here.”

Anakin gave his droid a thankful smile and a thumbs up. _Good job, Artoo._

“Useless,” Kix muttered. “Has he had any medical care?”

“I do _believe_ my droid gave him some blood,” Hondo said slowly. “Kenobi did seem to be wearing more than he had in his body. More on that karking, ship-stealing droid too.”

“Artoo, what happened?” Anakin asked, hoping his droid would be more useful than the pirate.

 _Trap. Damage._ Artoo whistled at him and then span in a circle displaying a large gash in the droid’s casing and circuitry. Someone had damaged both Obi-Wan and Artoo quite thoroughly.

Anakin cursed.

Kix seemed to tune them out after that.

“I knew I had a bad feeling about this mission,” Anakin ground out. “I knew I shouldn’t have let him go.”

“Ani, love, neither of us could have stopped him.”

“I should have tried _harder!”_ Anakin all but yelled.

Padmé stepped back from him, her mouth tight and her eyes distant.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” he took a deep breath in as he obsessively ran his hands through his hair. It felt as thought there was something in his chest trying to bust through his ribs. He found it hard to swallow.

“It’s okay,” Padmé said. “Just breathe.”

Hondo watched the whole thing with fascination.

Anakin needed the Weequay out of his sight.

Anakin inhaled deeply. “Hondo, you can stay the night. We will give you a reward for bringing him back and _keeping your mouth shut,_ and then you will leave,” Anakin told him sharply.

“Of _course_ , of _course_ ,” Hondo agreed. “An _excellent_ deal. Of course I was not _expecting_ a reward, Kenobi and I are old friends of course, but I could never turn down such _generosity_.”

Anakin resisted just knocking him fucking unconscious to shut him up; his hands shook where they rested in clenched fists at his side.

“Let me get you a cup of tea,” Padmé said through a forced smile and led Hondo into the kitchen.

“What’s wrong with him?” Anakin asked, his hands now fisted in the fabric of his sleeves, trying to reign in the desire to destroy something. He felt so full. Bursting at the edges with fear and worry and love and— “His Force presence is very weak,” Anakin added.

“It’s not good,” Kix said with a sigh. “A heavy blow to the back of his head; possible concussion. Stab wound in his side; definitely infected. A broken ankle that looks like he’s _walked on_ and inevitably made worse. Plus all the general bruising, blood loss, and two small lightsaber burns, which are thankfully just grazes. Someone did a _real_ number on him.”

Anakin shook. He wanted to murder whoever had done this. Wanted to choke the air from their lungs, watch the light go out of their eyes—

“Ani, deep breaths,” Padmé reminded him in almost a whisper, reappearing next to him, her hand curling around his.

Anakin did as she said and took a long, deep breath, refocusing his thoughts away from that dark place and focusing in on her. Once he was calm, he realised that a lot of the furniture was shaking. He stopped that immediately.

Kix looked at them both sympathetically. “It’s not good, but it’s not a death sentence. A long recovery, perhaps.” He glanced back at Obi-Wan. “I won’t know more until he wakes up.”

“What can we do?” Padmé asked.

“Get him into bed to rest,” Kix replied. “It should be fine to carry him. I’ve already administered painkillers and antibiotics, so that should help a little. I will try and get some bacta from work in the morning.”

Anakin nodded. “Thank you, Kix. We’ll get him to bed.”

“And Anakin? Don’t try to do that Jedi healing bullshit with him until I’ve had time to set his ankle properly. You’ll just make it heal wrong.” Kix said. “I’m too tired to trust myself to do it correctly tonight.”

Anakin nodded. Kix knew him way too well.

“I’ll show our guest to a room,” Kix finished. He packed up his kit and made a detour for the kitchen where he collected Hondo and took him downstairs, the pirate’s voice echoing in the hallway.

“Let’s get him downstairs,” Padmé said giving Anakin’s hand a gentle tug.

Anakin nodded and picked his lover up gently, an arm beneath his knees and his shoulders. It reminded Anakin far too much of Mustafar. He pushed that thought aside and followed Padmé downstairs. She held the doors open and Anakin placed Obi-Wan down on their bed.

“This could be an issue,” Padmé said thoughtfully. “I don't think we should share the bed with him. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Why don’t we steal a mattress from the twins,” Anakin suggested, desperate to be helpful. “They won’t mind sharing and we can put Obi-Wan on it until he wakes up. We probably don’t want him accidentally falling off the bed either.”

“True,” Padmé agreed. “Okay. You get the mattress, I’ll find some clean clothes for Obi-Wan.”

The two of them busied themselves for a time. Anakin snuck into the twins room, picked Luke up while he was still asleep and deposited him next to his sister. Luke, undisturbed, just snuggled closer to Leia. Wolffe had clearly done an excellent job of calming them down. The man, for all his quiet seriousness, seemed to be great with kids.

Anakin picked up the blanket and pillow with the Force and manually hefted the mattress across the hall to their room. Padmé plucked the floating objects out of the air when he returned and followed Anakin to the back wall of their room. He shoved the mattress into the corner and Padmé placed the blankets and pillow beside it. They then got Obi-Wan out of his tattered, blood stained clothes, and into the soft pants and shirt Padmé had dug out. Anakin then carefully relocated him to the little bed.

They stood there for a moment, hand in hand, staring down at his unconscious form. Only the rise and fall of his chest and the faint connection between his and Anakin’s mind told him that Obi-Wan wasn’t dead.

Obi-Wan looked far too pale.

The room was too close.

He needed air.

“I’m going outside,” Anakin said suddenly.

Padmé squeezed his hand, holding him in place. “Ani?”

“I need to go _do_ something; destroy a rock or work on the speeder or go through some katas—I just need to get it all out. I—I _feel_ —It’s too _much_ —” He was trembling by the end of the sentence, unable to find the words to express himself. _Everything_ was too much.

Padmé shushed him with a kiss on the lips, her hands stroking over his hair. “It’s okay, love. I understand. Don’t stay out too long. Come back to me when you’re done.”

Anakin nodded. “I will.”

Anakin stalked back upstairs and outside, beelining for the pod-racer. He sat down beside it and began aggressively sorting through the rubble, pulling sections further apart.

This was his greatest fear returned; having someone he loved stolen from him, again, and being unable to do anything about it. He’d joined Sidious to save Padmé and he would just about do anything right now to help Obi-Wan. He wanted to exact his revenge on whoever did this, in any way he could. It was a dark, poisonous thought that he knew Obi-Wan and Padmé wouldn’t approve of, but Anakin felt it anyway. He needed to know what had happened. He was scared and angry and _anxious,_ each of those feelings vying violently for his attention, creating a churning, molten core in his heart. Worst of all, Anakin felt _helpless_. There was nothing he could do right now to make this right; nothing he could do to help the man he loved.

He shook his head.

Then he did what he knew he had to; he meditated.

He lost himself in the organisation of the mechanical parts as he organised his mind, feeling over each thought, examining it, allowing it to exist, and then putting it down. When Anakin finally came back to himself, he was sat in the centre of a circle made of pod parts, organised into sections and arranged carefully. He didn’t remember doing it. He felt a little bit better.

Taking a deep breath in, Anakin headed back inside and quietly padded down the stairs and back into their room.

Padmé was kneeling beside the mattress they had put Obi-Wan on when he entered. She held Obi-Wan’s limp hand in hers, pressing it to her forehead, her shoulders quivering. Oh. No.

Anakin felt cold. The chill doused any of the remaining fire that had been burning in his chest.

“Padmé? Are you okay?” Anakin asked, sitting down beside her.

“No,” she hiccuped and then broke apart into breathless sobs. “I’m kriffing—kriffing scared, Ani. Look at the—the state of him.” Padmé shook beneath his fingertips as he put his hand on her shoulder. At the touch, she turned and looked at him with wide, watery eyes, before she threw herself into his chest. Then she just cried; huge, gut-wrenching sobs and quivering shoulders. Anakin felt a lump in his throat. He shouldn't have left her alone. He had been selfish. Anakin stroked her back slowly until she sniffed again and pulled back.

“I’m sorry I left you alone,” Anakin said.

Padmé shook her head. “It’s what you needed.”

“What about you?”

Padmé hiccuped a laugh. “I may have just given Obi-Wan the biggest talking to of his life. I feel quite a lot better than I did.”

“I’m glad.” Anakin kissed her head. “Come on. We should sleep.”

Neither of them slept.

* * *

Obi-Wan woke up three days later.

Anakin and Padmé spent that time in an odd daze, the pair of them wordlessly orbiting Obi-Wan’s motionless body. They took care of him as best they could, neither leaving him unattended for very long. Once Kix had set his ankle, Anakin spent long hours laying beside Obi-Wan, searching for calm and pressing as much healing energy as he could spare at his lover. After that, Kix checked on him every morning and evening, applying bacta and painkillers and antibiotics wherever it was needed. It worried Anakin that Kix was worried.

Hondo, for some reason that was utterly beyond Anakin, was _still here_. He remained in Ahsoka’s bedroom for the night that he dropped Obi-Wan off and had emerged chipper and exuberant as ever. Luke had taken to him _immediately,_ a fact which horrified both his conscious parents. Zatt had attacked him screaming something incomprehensible about a circus. Hondo had laughed it off and petted the young Nautolan on his head until he collapsed in a heap. Plo had handled it from there. Anakin just left the whole situation alone for now. Hondo wasn’t stealing anything or causing too much trouble, so in Anakin’s book, he was a lesser priority.

Caleb continued to follow Anakin around, though definitely less so than he had. Their guests had been appraised of the situation the next morning and all of them were very aware that Anakin and Padmé were going out of their heads with worry. Anakin was also fairly sure he was projecting a lot of it. He tried to keep it in check, but sometimes it slipped out.

And then Obi-Wan woke up.

Anakin felt him stir through their bond early one afternoon when he was working on one of the solar panels on the roof. He’d refused to leave the farm ever since Obi-Wan had come home. He'd turned down multiple calls from people in need of repairs and kept Kitster updated on the situation, explaining he _couldn’t_ come back to town until he was sure Obi-Wan was okay. Kitster had offered his sympathy and assured Anakin he could handle their enterprise for a while.

Anakin jumped from the roof and just about bolted inside. He took the stairs two at a time and then paused at the door to their bedroom when he heard talking.

“Padmé…I’m so sorry,” Obi-Wan said. His voice was hoarse and only just audible through the door. Anakin felt his heart break all over again. He sounded awful.

“It’s okay, dearest,” Padmé said, and he heard the mattress squeak beneath her weight. “This wasn’t your fault.”

“I should have—”

“Shhhh. Don’t argue with me. You know I’m right,” Padmé said, a smile in her voice. “You came home, and that’s all that matters. Now you need to rest.”

Obi-Wan was silent for a time before he said, “I don’t know how I got here.” Anakin hated the fear he could hear in Obi-Wan’s voice. “Padmé?” Obi-Wan asked hesitantly.

Padmé let out a squeak. “I’m—I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cry again.” She sniffed, her breath catching a little. “We were just so scared. You were so, so late and then you come home like _this_. Kix and Anakin and I have been so _worried_.”

Anakin decided it was time to stop lurking. He opened the door to see Padmé knelt beside Obi-Wan, her hands covering her face.

“I’m sorry, Padmé,” Obi-Wan said, his large hand coming to cup her face and pull the hands from her cheek. Obi-Wan looked up to Anakin and gave him a weak smile. “Hello, Anakin.”

Anakin wordlessly knelt beside his wife, pressing their legs together and wrapping one arm around her waist. He brought his other hand up to Obi-Wan’s face, gently cradling his heart in his hands and leant forward. His forehead brushed Obi-Wan’s. He sighed, feeling Obi-Wan’s Force signature graze against his. The lingering burning feeling in his chest subsided for the first time in days. He felt one of Obi-Wan’s hands come to rest on his neck.

“How are you feeling?” Padmé asked, and Anakin pulled away.

“Not too bad,” Obi-Wan said.

“Liar,” Anakin accused. He could feel the bone deep exhaustion seeping from Obi-Wan. Through their bond Anakin could also feel the ache in his ankle, the pain from the wound in his side and the tenderness of the bruising on his head.

Obi-Wan gave him a weak smile. “Was worth a go.”

“What happened Obi-Wan?” Padmé asked in a whisper. “Artoo was only able to tell us so much.”

Anakin had put him back together the day after he had returned home, replacing the severed wires and damaged parts. Unfortunately, Artoo hadn’t witnessed the specifics of whatever had happened, only able to convey bits and pieces of the story.

“Inquisitors,” Obi-Wan said with a sigh.

Anakin pushed down all his urges to destroy something. There were a few of them.

“It was a trap,” Obi-Wan elaborated. “I don’t know how they knew, but they were waiting for me. They wanted you, Anakin, and when I refused to tell them where you were, they decided I was more useful as a hostage. I managed to fight them off and escape, but not without injury.” He shifted his leg and immediately winced. “Oh yeah, that’s still broken.”

Padmé rolled her eyes at him. “I hope you're ready for the lecture Kix is going to give you for walking on it.”

“Try running on it,” Obi-Wan muttered.

Anakin exhaled loudly in frustration. “ _Obi-Wan—_ ”

“Look, it was that or getting fucking captured or killed by the Inquisitors,” Obi-Wan bit back, his eyes unnaturally bright. “If you’d have preferred that—”

“No!” both Padmé and Anakin cried at the same time.

Obi-Wan sighed and deflated, suddenly looking much more tired than he had. “How _did_ I get here?” he asked. “I remember getting to the spaceport…?”

“Hondo found you.”

“Oh. No,” he groaned, voice rasping. “I was hoping I’d hallucinated that.”

“You did not,” Padmé replied. “He rescued you and then Artoo commandeered his ship to bring you home.”

“Hondo’s going to be _insufferable,_ ” Obi-Wan sighed, falling back onto the pillows..

Anakin smiled for the first time in 3 days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow the number of character tags this chapter added was _wild_
> 
> Huttese Translaton:  
> Kung - Scum
> 
>  
> 
>  **EDIT 19.09.17:** Hey all, just to keep you in the loop, university is fucking demolishing my entire life at the moment and is showing no signs of letting up. This semester wraps up for me on the 3rd of November so I'd suggest there won't be any new chapters until after that. I'm super sorry but my degree and my mental health has to come first, HOWEVER the second this semester is done I plan to fucking smash out the rest of this fic. I love writing it and I'm so sad I haven't been able to find any time to do so. Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you love the finale when it comes.
> 
>  
> 
>  **EDIT 06.11.17:** SEMESTER IS OVER! FUCK YEAH! FREEDOM!! So, just to keep you all in the loop, I am now free to keep working on this story! Huzzah! The first thing I will be doing (and it will be done by the end of the date mentioned) is I will be making a series of revisions that have needed doing for a while now. These have come from very helpful comments filled with excellent feedback which I have taken on board and have had on a list of 'things to fix up'. I was planning on saving them until I finished the story, but I'd rather have them in and done before I smash out these last few chapters. None of these changes have any kind of lasting impact on the story as a whole, but in the interest of keeping you all in the loop, here's the list of changes:  
>  \- the ‘blood from lightsaber wound’ in chapter 1. that was straight up me being a lazy writer. my bad!  
> \- moving the sex scene from chap 7 to chap 13. chap 7 will get something a little different because as was pointed out to me, a person with 0 knowledge of pregnancies and armed only with the power of google, a person pregnant with twins at 8 months would not be having penetrative sex.  
> \- some further explanation on ‘disparaging comments’ in chap 20  
> \- some rewrites of how Anakin’s jealously is handled in chaps 17 and 21. I got some amazing feedback on these which were very helpful in reflecting on these chapters. I want to rewrite/fiddle with these scenes to make them seem less like Padme is endorsing, or is at least okay with, Anakin’s jealousy stuff because that is 100% how they read right now and was absolutely not my intention.  
> \- plus a couple of consistency/overuse of particular words fixes all over the place


	26. Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovelies! It’s been quite a while and I am very sorry for the gap between updates but it absolutely could not be helped. I had literally zero (0) time to work on this story for the whole semester of uni. It was fucking BONKERS. I have never had a uni semester quite like that one where it completely took up all my life, and let me tell you when I had a small amount of time to myself, there was no brain space left to write this. It made me hella sad but now I’m on holidays until March so HOLD ON TO YOUR PANTS BECAUSE THIS BOI’S GETTING THIS FIC DONE.
> 
> Also to note; I made some changes and edits to this fic, so if you are interested in what has been changed, see the end of the last chapter(ch25)’s notes. These changes have been in the works for a while thanks to some AWESOME con-crit, so thank you to those people who provided that good good feedback. It’s been very helpful. love you.
> 
> On top of this; this fic now has over 1500 kudos??? Thank you??!? This is wild?!? I love all of you and I hope you love the next few chapters as we wind this bad boy up (hold on to your buns, people).
> 
> Since it’s been so long and I feel bad, here’s a very brief recap of most recent plot points to get you started: Obi got injured on mission but was brought home by Hondo. While Obi was away, their new houseguests (Luminara, Plo, Wolffe and 4 padawans) arrived and Anakin has been bonding with Caleb and secretly freeing slaves. Padmé has been doing rebellion stuff. The twins continue to be cute.
> 
> Once again, a huge thanks and shout out to my beta Matlida_Nicki who continues to do a wonderful job of beta-ing my word mess! Love your work! :) And as always, I am happy for constructive criticism regardless.
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

It was a slow recovery for Obi-Wan.

After waking up for the first time, Obi-Wan had passed right back out. Kix had been pleased to hear that the former general had  been conscious at all when he arrived home that evening. The medic had briefly forced him awake for a conversation which, from what Padmé caught while she put the kids to bed, was cataloguing the injuries and identifying how he got them. Padmé then gleefully listened to the lecture she’d been waiting for about running on broken ankles. Obi-Wan had glared at Kix for the first half of it, and then Padmé for the rest of it when he finally noticed her in the doorway. It just made her smile harder. Kix finally wished him a speedy recovery, accompanied by placing a small pile of medications and bandages piled on the side table closest to him. Padmé reentered the bedroom proper as the conversation wound to a close. When Kix ran out of words he placed a crutch on the ground beside Obi-Wan that Anakin had put together at his request, and said, “Use it or I will finish what the Inquisitors started.”

“You really haven’t improved your bedside manner,” Obi-Wan noted, smiling at the crutch.

“Most importantly, you need to rest,” Kix stated flatly, ignoring the comment. “Or I  _ will _ tie you to a bed.”

“Not going to buy me dinner first?” At the medic’s scowl, Obi-Wan smiled and said, “I will, Kix. Thank you.”

“Good.” Kix stood up, patting Obi-Wan’s shoulder companionably as he went. He gave Padmé a brief smile as he passed. “He should be fine, so long as he follows my instructions. I wrote them down if you’re interested. They’re with the pile I left on the bed-side table.”

“Thanks Kix,” Padmé replied with a smile of her own. “Have a nice night.”

Kix nodded and walked out the trio’s bedroom, heading to his own. Obi-Wan was asleep the next moment as Padmé looked over at him. She read over the note Kix had left before she hopped into the main bed, pulling a holo-pad into her lap. Bail had sent her some transmission transcripts that just needed reading. It was boring but necessary work. Most of the transmissions were normal, everyday interactions. She was looking for anything useful, though a lot of the time, there wasn’t.

Anakin snuck into the room an hour later, quickly changing into sleeping pants and sliding into bed beside Padmé.

“How goes the reading?” Anakin asked in a whisper, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Padmé looked up. “Very uninteresting. Most of it is inventory, with the occasional gossipy conversation between pilots. The best information so far is that Grand Moff Tarkin goes through fluffy slippers at an alarming speed. Otherwise it is a thrilling read in the comings and goings of a Star Destroyer.”

Anakin smiled. “I can’t decide if Tarkin in fluffy slippers makes him seem like more or less of an asshole. How’s Obi-Wan?”

“Kix seems confident in his recovery. He just has to rest and follow doctor’s orders.” Padmé yawned. “He seemed to accept that pretty easily.”

Anakin hummed, plucking the holo-pad from Padmé’s hands and placing it on the bedside table. “Give Obi-Wan a couple of days. He’s the absolute worst at resting after an injury.” Anakin flicked his hand in the air, the light turning off in time with the movement.

“Couldn’t get out of the bed for a second?” Padmé asked, snuggling in closer to Anakin.

“Nah. I’m warm.”

The next morning Anakin had to head off early. He’d missed work for the three days now and had to go make up for lost time. He seemed distinctly calmer now that Obi-Wan was confirmed to be out of danger. Padmé had to admit that a weight had lifted from her shoulders as well. 

Obi-Wan was still sleeping when she took the twins upstairs for breakfast. An exciting meal of toast later and the three of them returned downstairs to keep an eye on Obi-Wan. Luke and Leia sat on the bed beside Padmé playing with their toys. Currently, there seemed to be a major power struggle going on between King Gub and an LAAT gunship. It was very intense. 

Padmé went back to reading through the ship transmissions.

“Hey,” came a tired voice to her right some time later.

Padmé and the twins perked up in their seats, looking over to see Obi-Wan looking up at them, bleary eyed, from the floor.

The twins were very good in restraining themselves. Padmé had explained to them the morning after Obi-Wan was brought home that their Daddy was hurt and they couldn’t jump on him. Instead of leaping on him, both brightly yelled, “Daddy!” and crawled to lie on the edge of the bed, staring at him intensely.

“Hey,” Padmé replied, scooting to the edge of the bed in between the twins. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore, mainly.” Obi-Wan lightly touched his hand to his torso and winced. “Kix said he left medication?”

“He left a stash with instructions,” Padmé confirmed, “but you need to eat first. Think you can do that?” She reached over Leia to the bedside table, searching for the painkillers and antibiotics. “We have eggs and fruit and bread at the moment. Any of that take your fancy?”

“Bread and fruit sounds good.” 

“I’ll help!” Luke exclaimed, leaping off the bed and running for the door.

“Leia?” Padmé asked.

“I can watch Daddy.”

Padmé nodded and followed out after Luke. The two of them put together a plate of the requested foods, Luke very carefully picking single grapes from the bunch and placing them with the rest of the meal. Padmé also grabbed a large cup of water. That done, they carefully carried the meal downstairs, Luke very seriously floating the cup in front of him. 

Leia had moved to sit right beside her father, asking him all sorts of questions about his health; Leia evidently thought herself quite the doctor after her discussions with Kix. Obi-Wan humoured her, letting her check him over carefully and listening to her instructions to, “Sleep a lot.” 

Once Padmé handed Obi-Wan the plate, Leia watched her father eat the food with a determined seriousness while Luke proudly told Obi-Wan how he’d chosen all the best grapes. Obi-Wan was clearly resisting laughing at the pair. Once he had eaten, Padmé handed him the water and the pills which he took quickly. He must really hurt.

“Now, would you like to stay down there on the floor or would you like to move up to the bed?” Padmé asked, standing up from where she had been perched beside him. 

“Up there sounds lovely. Getting up and down from the floor in the long term doesn’t sound like fun.”

They didn’t get very far. Given that it was Obi-Wan’s left ankle that had been broken and the wound in his side was on the right, there was no easy or comfortable way for him to move. They tried a couple of different things but in the end Obi-Wan just crawled awkwardly along the floor and slowly clambered onto the bed. It wasn't elegant but with Padmé trying to support him where she could, they got him there. Luke and Leia watched the whole thing unashamedly from where they had scrambled to sit on the bed, snuggled up in the pillows.

“This bodes so well,” Obi-Wan grumbled, lying back against the bed, almost gasping for breath. 

Padmé sat on his left side and petted his shoulder reassuringly. “You’ll get there. It’s just going to be hard for a while.”

He smiled up at her. “Come here. I missed you.” Obi-Wan twisted his fingers in her hair and gave her a gentle tug. 

Padmé leant down and left a careful kiss on his lips before she snuggled down beside him, resting her head in the space above his left shoulder. “I missed you too.”

Obi-Wan quickly fell asleep again, snoring gently beside her head. 

“Daddy’s asleep again?” Luke asked, sliding up beside Padmé and leaning over her to look at Obi-Wan.

“Yes,” Padmé said softly, dragging Luke down to cuddle beside her. “We have to be quiet and let him sleep. He needs it.”

Leia, not wanting to be left out, draped herself next to her brother

Padmé stayed where she was, smothered in children and keeping Obi-Wan’s sleeping form company, slowly drifting off.

She woke suddenly to a hand on her hip. 

“Hey, Ani,” Padmé muttered blearily, looking up at her husband. Anakin looked exhausted and had a smear of grease up his face. “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.”

“I see I missed the family nap?” Anakin nodded at where Padmé and Obi-Wan lay.

“Obi-Wan went first, and the rest of us seemed to follow, though I’m not sure where the twins have gotten to,” Padmé replied. “He still seems exhausted. We managed to get him to eat and take some medicine though.” 

“That’s good,” Anakin said and sat on the bed on the other side of Obi-Wan and ran his left hand gently through their lover’s hair. “The twins are playing with Zatt and Aulu upstairs.”

Obi-Wan let out a tiny sleepy sigh.

Anakin smiled.

“How was work?” Padmé asked, watching Anakin continue to pet Obi-Wan.

“Busy,” Anakin replied. “I’m probably going to be away from home for a lot of the next week to catch up.”

Padmé and Anakin spoke in hushed tones, discussing their days in detail. It seemed that Anakin had been bounced from one location to another with very few breaks today. Anakin was clearly needed by the general population. Slowly, Obi-Wan rose out of his sleep, leaning into Anakin’s hand.

“You awake, darling?” Padmé asked gently.

Obi-Wan hummed, his hand reaching up to touch Anakin’s. Anakin wrapped their fingers together and waited quietly for Obi-Wan to gain full lucidity. 

His eyes blinked open, sluggish. “I think Kix gave me the good stuff,” Obi-Wan said slowly.

Anakin smiled. “I should hope so.”

Obi-Wan cringed as he tried to move, letting out a long hiss of air.

Anakin stilled, his jaw tightening as he watched.

“What’s wrong?” Obi-Wan asked, frowning up at Anakin. His head tilted faintly. “Are you…angry at me?”

“I—no, it’s not that,” Anakin sighed, running a hand over his face. “I’m not angry at you, I’m angry at them for doing this to you.”

There was a long silence, Obi-Wan looking at Anakin searchingly as he slowly but surely worked his way up to rest on the pillows at the head of the bed, Anakin helping him out as best he could.

“That makes two of us then.” Obi-Wan gave him a halfhearted smile when he was settled. “I should have  _ known _ better,” Obi-Wan muttered, though more to himself than anyone else. “I should have  _ been _ better. I should have sensed that trap. I used to be so much better at dealing with multiple opponents too. My skills are just so rusty; I should have been better than that.” 

Padmé watched Anakin’s expression melt into concern and felt her own face do the same. “How many Inquisitors were there?” she asked. "I thought it was two, like last time.”

“No,” Obi-Wan said. “It was three.”

“Three!” Padmé exclaimed, frowning at Anakin and watching his eyes grow cold.

“Darling, there’s no shame in that. There’s no reason to be disappointed in yourself.” Padmé rested her hand on his knee. “You did your best and you came home. Be proud of that.”

“I didn’t exactly get myself home though did I?” Obi-Wan said quietly. “I was certain I was dead.”

“Then it was very fortuitous that Hondo was in the area,” Padmé said with finality. She didn’t want to dwell on the thought of what may have happened without the pirate.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Anakin asked, his voice hesitant.

“Yes, it’s fine, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. “I’ve already gone over it with Kix.” Obi-Wan then carefully documented the days onward from when he’d called them last. His voice was very even and calm through the whole retelling, Padmé’s hand reached out to curl around his as he described the trap laid for him. Slowly, the tale wound down and a quiet settled over the room, Padmé only able to hear the anxious thudding of her own heart. 

“I don’t think you should be doing missions like these anymore,” Anakin said finally. 

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment. “Honestly Anakin, neither do I.” He looked at Padmé. “I was thinking I should do more of what Padmé does.”

“I’m sure Bail will be fine with that,” Padmé said, “and before you ask, yes, we’ve contacted him already, so you don’t need to worry about debriefing with him until you’re feeling a bit better.” 

Obi-Wan nodded slowly.

“I should probably start on dinner,” Padmé said. “Neither of you look very up to it just now. I’ll leave the two of you to catch up.”

Anakin offered to help, but Padmé shook her head. Padmé had had all day to reassure herself that Obi-Wan was fine, it was Anakin’s turn now. 

As noted, Padmé found the twins plus Aulu and Zatt quietly squashed up on the couch together. The older kids seemed to be carrying most of the conversation, with her children avidly listening, clearly hanging off each word. From the sounds of it, they were describing all the planets they’d been to.

Padmé let their chatter fade into the background as she focused on making a thick soup. The more vitamins she could get into Obi-Wan, the better. She also was aware how hungry he was going to be for at least the next week while healing, especially buffered by the Force and Anakin’s determined healing attentions. Already, even after only three days of Anakin sending healing energy at him, Obi-Wan had much more colour to him. Padmé ended up sending Anakin downstairs with two bowls when it was finished, Padmé having a loud dinner with Kix, Luke, Leia, and Hondo.

Of course, the very next day, Padmé discovered that they’d forgotten to tell Obi-Wan about their guests. They’d been so fixated on getting him settled and beginning his recovery that it had been pushed to the back burner in their minds.

Plo Koon had suddenly appeared in the doorway to the stairs while Padmé was getting Obi-Wan to plait Leia’s hair. Obi-Wan was seated on the bed while she sat beside him, Leia perched happily in between his legs, being very careful not to hurt her Daddy. 

“Hello, Obi-Wan. I hear you are doing better,” Plo had said warmly, leaning against the door frame. “It is very good to see you again.”

When Padmé watched Obi-Wan’s hands freeze in Leia’s hair, she realised their mistake.

“Oh, Obi-Wan, our guests finally arrived. We now have Plo, Luminara, Wolffe and four younglings on the bottom floor,” Padmé explained, turning in her seat to look at him. His face had drained of all colour and his blue-green eyes were wide open. “It completely slipped my mind, I’m so sorry.”

He let out a long exhale and watched the air disturb some of her daughter’s hair. 

“I honestly thought I’d died for a moment there,” Obi-Wan laughed awkwardly, the colour slowly returning to his cheeks. “Hello Plo, it is truly wonderful to see you. You’ll have to excuse me for not coming over and giving you a hug, I find moving rather difficult at the moment.”

Plo nodded. “I understand. There was quite a commotion when you came home.”

“I can imagine,” Obi-Wan said, smiling. “How have you been, Plo?”

Plo entered the room fully, coming to sit cross legged on the floor, falling into the tale that Padmé and Anakin had heard when they had arrived. Deciding to leave them to it, Padmé petted Obi-Wan on his shoulder and excused herself from the room, letting the two old friends catch up, Leia remaining behind in Obi-Wan’s lap. Throughout the rest of that day, Obi-Wan ended up having a few other visitors. Luminara briefly spoke to him, and a couple of the Padawans, Caleb and Zaria, popped in as well while accompanied by the twins, By the end of the second day, Obi-Wan was trying his best to get around on the crutch he had been given. He didn’t move too much, much to Padmé’s relief, mainly getting up to go to the bathroom or to come up to the kitchen for meals. When Kix had first caught him up and about that evening, he’d been grumpy, but after a quick inspection, deemed Obi-Wan okay and making reasonable choices. Padmé had done her best to herd Hondo away, at least for now, but the pirate was very excited to see Obi-Wan join them for dinner that first night.

Padmé, strangely enough,  _ liked  _ Hondo. Yes, he was a pain in the ass and was teaching Luke and Leia words he  _ really  _ shouldn’t be, but he had a very distinct charm that Padmé quite enjoyed. In the five days he’d been here thus far, he would generally hang around the farm and on his ship which was parked  _ very  _ close to the house, or he would venture into town for what she could only assume were nefarious reasons. He had, however, sworn on his ‘Best Friend Obi-Wan’ that he would keep their identities to himself, so she at least didn’t need to worry about that. She’d also found his interactions with Obi-Wan to be very entertaining.

Over the next few days, the two of them seemed to just bounce banter back and forth between them, Hondo, strongly asserting the closeness of their friendship and their “eternal bond that allowed, me, the great  _ Hondo _ , so rescue  _ you _ , my greatest Jedi friend.” Obi-Wan appeared to suffer through the whole exchange but was still highly affable. 

Padmé had to admit they had a very odd relationship.

What amused her most was the frequent flirting on Hondo’s part. It was clearly a normal staple between the two because Anakin just kept rolling his eyes every time it happened, occasionally rescuing Obi-Wan when he looked too tired for the other’s company.

Padmé also watched Celeb continue to trot a few feet behind Anakin whenever he was home, the boy seemingly bound to her husband by some kind of invisible string. A few days after later, Padmé noticed that Zatt had joined the little queue as well, the Nautolan clearly having also decided that Anakin was someone to be followed. Anakin himself seemed very pleased about the development. They had particularly enjoyed the day Anakin gave Artoo a ‘thank you for rescuing Obi-Wan’ oil bath. They didn’t exactly  _ have _ an oil bath, so Anakin and the two kids had improvised, lovingly giving Artoo’s casing and parts a very thorough cleaning. The three of them had ended up wearing a similar amount of oil to Artoo and were given a very thorough hosing before they were allowed inside. Luke had joined in being hosed just because he felt like it.

Now the week was coming to a close and Obi-Wan was mostly mobile. He could get around competently with his crutch and wouldn’t constantly fall asleep on any and all surfaces given half a second’s chance. He still undoubtedly slept a lot, but it was more when he overexerted himself than anything else. Kix continued to find nothing wrong in how Obi-Wan was doing, both in terms of healing and in how he was taking care of himself, so everyone relaxed another notch. Obi-Wan had also made some time to catch up with Plo, Luminara, and Wolffe when he felt up to it. Padmé noted how happy he was after such interactions. It must be a great relief to him to know that a few of his family had survived. 

In sight of that, Padmé decided that putting together a group dinner could be very nice. Obi-Wan was on the path to recovery and the other half of the household had settled in comfortably. A small celebration might do wonders for overall morale. Padmé organised it with Plo a few days ago, the two of them putting together ideas for the food.

* * *

It was late and the three of them had curled up on the couch together. Padmé had settled on the end with Obi-Wan’s head in her lap. Anakin lay beside Obi-Wan, settled into the back of the couch with his elbow tucked beside her bottom so he could lean up and rest his chin on Obi-Wan’s shoulder, one of the few places he wasn’t hurt. It felt familiar. Obi-Wan had been very handsy since he had woken up, seemingly needing the reassurance that he was home and he was safe and they loved him. Padmé had also caught herself and Anakin doing the same.

Anakin was relaying some of the work he’d done today to Obi-Wan, his voice a calm note in a quiet room. Padmé was only half listening, most of the technical details going well over her head. 

Padmé watched absently as Anakin kissed Obi-Wan lightly on the cheek, seemingly more interested in just breathing him in. Padmé ran her fingers through Anakin’s hair, her touch light before she let her hand trail down his neck and disappear down the back of his shirt. He was still warm from the afternoon sun.

Anakin leveraged himself up a little higher on his elbow, Obi-Wan smiling up at the two of them.

“What, do I not get a real kiss?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Do you promise not to get into any more ridiculously unbalanced fights?” Padmé asked, her finger lightly tapping his nose.

Obi-Wan sighed dramatically, smiling at her, upside-down. “I suppose.”

Anakin smiled. “Good.”

Padmé watched as Anakin cupped Obi-Wan’s face in his left hand and carefully leant down to kiss him.

“I’m not going to break, Anakin,” Padmé heard him mutter petulantly a few moments later.

“Could have fooled me,” Anakin growled back.

“Obi-Wan I was wondering if I could borrow your—oh.” Luminara cut off her sentence mid-way through, her voice going from calm to shocked in an instant.

Padmé felt the entirety of Obi-Wan freeze beneath her.

Luminara stood there with both eyebrows raised, just looking between the three of them. 

It was a  _ long _ silence.

“Is there something we can help you with, Luminara?” Padmé asked when her brain kicked in, refusing to look away or take either of her hands from her boys.

“I was after a book from Obi-Wan.” 

“If it’s the one we were talking about earlier, I leant it to Kix last, he should have it around,” Obi-Wan said, almost toneless. There was a weird atmosphere in the room.

Luminara nodded sharply and turned on her heel, walking back down the stairs

The silence seemed to descend on the room again.

“Well that was rude,” Padmé noted quietly, removing her hand from Anakin’s hair and resting it gently on Obi-Wan’s head.

Obi-Wan lay still, his mouth and eyes tight, staring directly up at the ceiling, clearly thinking. His face was a tapestry of indecision. Then without a word, Obi-Wan awkwardly hefted himself up, grabbed his crutch and exited the room, heading downstairs.

Anakin grumbled, his throat vibrating against the top of Padmé’s shoulder, muttering, “Think I should go talk to him?”

Padmé hummed in return. “Maybe we should give him some space to think? He looked pretty deep in his head.”

“That’s what I'm worried about.” Anakin replied, sliding down to put his head in her lap where Obi-Wan had been.

“We can talk to him about it before bed. That way he’s had some time to himself,” Padmé assured him.

Of course, Obi-Wan was already asleep when they came downstairs, curled up on the far side of the bed facing the back wall. Anakin gave her a shrug and the two of them got changed and hopped in with him.

“I’ll fight her,” Padmé whispered suddenly to the ceiling when she and Anakin were snuggled up in bed.

Anakin’s head swivelled. “Sorry?”

She turned to him, a deep frown on her face, “I’m going to have to fight Luminara,” she huffed in frustration. “I’m just so angry.” There was a long pause before she continued, “I mean, how fucking could she make Obi-Wan feel bad for something that makes him happy! The Jedi Order has been gone for over three years now, what does Luminara expect!?” Her voice was a low hiss as she finished her rant, swallowing down the rest of it. She didn't want to actually wake Obi-Wan. He needed the rest.

She watched a slow, loving smile grow across Anakin’s face before it dropped and Anakin replied seriously with, “She expects him to have stuck to the Code, like she and Plo and the kids have. We were too good at seducing him.”

“I’m not sure most of what we did would be considered being ‘good at seduction’,” Padmé countered, and then paused. “Are those kids really still being expected to be following the Code?” 

“Oh yeah,” Anakin sighed out. “I’ve managed to get Caleb to open up. I took him for a screaming session up in the cave. He needed it.”

“I had noticed you’d gained a new friend,” Padmé said, and then paused. “A screaming session?”

“Uh-huh,” Anakin confirmed. “I got him to scream his feelings into the cave. I think it helped. He had a lot of things to scream about.”

“Poor things,” Padmé sighed. “Well, guess I’ll have to fight Luminara over  _ two  _ things then. Or join you in stealing the children?”

Anakin leant in and kissed her lightly. “Just steal the children with me. Let’s not start a turf war.”

The next day was awkward.

Obi-Wan was clearly still deep in his own thoughts and sidestepped every and all related conversations Padmé or Anakin tried to start with him, citing, “Don’t worry, I’m trying to work out how to handle it.” Other than that, Obi-Wan behaved perfectly normally, changing nothing about their relationship. That abated some of her worries, but it didn’t completely appease Anakin’s anxieties. Padmé watched him watch Obi-Wan in a quiet state of concern during the times he was at home. 

Padmé could also sense the oncoming storm. Given that the dinner Padmé and Plo had organised was planned for this evening, and that everyone was dancing on eggshells around everyone else, she did not think it was going to go well. Padmé was determined to remain hopeful, so she focused on making a delicious meal.

Then, as the dinner began, things were looking up. Everyone was very happy and polite to one another. All the children were helpful in setting the table and stirring things that needed it. Anakin was the most help, doing most of the supervising of the kids and the food. Obi-Wan sent them all encouraging comments from his seat on the couch, unable to do much more than that. When he ran out of ideas, he opened up the latest report Padmé had received from Bail and began reading.

Finally, the meal was set and everyone was gathered in the room, taking whatever seat was free. Kix and Wolffe had nabbed the table from downstairs to expand the available eating space, ensuring everyone had their own chair this time. Padmé took a seat beside Leia, leaving a gap on her other side followed by Anakin. Luke was beside Leia, with Kix and Wolffe beside him. At the other end of the table were the two Jedi Masters randomly interspaced with the Padawans and Hondo. Threepio was circling the room, very happy to be serving drinks. Caleb noted how tasty it all looked and the children began piling food onto their plates.

“Obi?” Padmé called, turning in her seat to find their only missing person.

“Ah, I see I am a little behind,” Obi-Wan said, looking up and placing the data-pad on the caf-table. “Give me a moment.”

Satisfied he was coming over, Padmé helped the twins get food onto their plates. Luke seemed to be trying to get a truly unholy amount of mashed gourd onto his.

Padmé felt a comforting hand rest on her shoulder for a moment as Obi-Wan moved to sit down between them. He pressed a kiss to Anakin’s forehead as he sat down. 

“Obi-Wan, do you mind?” Luminara began, staring over at the three of them.

“I’m sorry, Luminara?”

“We are having dinner, this is neither the time nor the place.”

Obi-Wan frowned. “My apologies, I don’t quite follow.”

Padmé had good credits on the fact he knew  _ exactly  _ what she was saying. Ah dear. Gods save her from wilful men. Padmé sighed. 

This needed to happen.

“Your rather blatant displays of affection. We all knew your attachment to Skywalker went further than it should, but honestly Obi-Wan this is—”

Padmé saw Anakin open his mouth, a fire lit in his eyes, Padmé very close behind him, but Obi-Wan beat them to it.

“This is my  _ life _ , Luminara, and whether or not you approve of it, I love it,” Obi-Wan said, low and even. “I  _ love _ Anakin and Padmé and our children. We are finding happiness in an unimaginable situation where our lives were pulled out from under us and we had to find our own way. And no, it’s not very Jedi-like, but no matter how you look at it, I am no longer a Jedi and the Order as a whole is gone—and if you ask me, the more time I’ve had to think about it, the clearer it becomes that the Jedi were doomed to fall anyway. We didn’t help anyone who actually needed it. We helped the Senate only to further  _ their _ agendas. We fought a war we didn’t agree with, with men who had no choice but to fight in it. We helped put a Sith Lord on the throne of the galaxy—I could go on. So  _ kriff all of that. _ The Jedi and the Order  _ failed _ . Now, this is my  _ home  _ and my _ family,  _ so if you don’t like it, Master Unduli, then you can take your opinions on it and  _ leave _ .” 

Padmé briefly forgot how to breathe. 

It was _ completely _ silent.

The children all looked faintly shellshocked. Caleb looked like he’d seen the greatest spectacle of his life, staring at them with wide eyes and a crooked smiled. Anakin looked like he wanted to tackle Obi-Wan where he sat. Kix and Hondo were grinning like a mad men. Plo…well he and Wolffe looked like their usual inscrutable selves.

“G _ et some, General _ ,” Padmé heard Kix whisper beside her.

Luminara was staring at him as though she’d never seen this man before in her life.

“I don’t care what you think of me, but you will not try and dictate to us what is and is not appropriate in our own home,” Obi-Wan suddenly continued. “Besides, it is not as though a little kissing has traumatised  _ our _ children.”

As if on cue, Luke made kissy faces across the table at Anakin, who smiled back at him, blowing his son a kiss in return.

Then Hondo piped up from the other end of the table. “So,  _ just _ out of curiosity, is there  _ any _ space for more in this little  _ arrangement _ ?”

“No!” Anakin and Padmé said at the same time at varying levels of exasperation.

“Ah, well, you cannot blame me for  _ trying _ ,” the pirate drawled. “If they ever treat you wrong Kenobi—”

“Hondo, please never finish that sentence,” Obi-Wan said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

There was a chitter of laughter from the children. 

Luminara remained silent.

The rest of the meal was quiet apart from the chatter from the kids with the occasional interruption of Hondo telling them another stupidly outlandish story while dramatically waving his cutlery around. Kix and Wolffe talked to each other amicably, with occasional contributions from Plo. Anakin  _ looked _ like he had a whole lot to say, but sensibly kept it to himself for now. 

The dinner slowly, thankfully, wound to a close and the  _ moment _ the last of their guests went downstairs, Padmé seized Obi-Wan where he sat and kissed him in a way that was definitely not suitable for little eyes, careful to avoid any injuries. Obi-Wan let out a yelp of surprise, but quickly relaxed in her embrace. Padmé carefully rested a knee on the edge of his chair between his legs, gaining some leverage and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. 

“What was that for?” Obi-Wan asked breathlessly, looking between the two of them in confusion when Padmé finally released him.

“You chose  _ us _ ,” Anakin said, his voice barely a whisper, staring at Obi-Wan.

“I—of course I did,” Obi-Wan said, frowning. “There was never any other choice, my love.”

Anakin made a tiny, wounded sound, running a hand down the side of Obi-Wan’s face. 

“We were worried,” Padmé said. “You’ve been distant for the past day.”

He blinked. “Oh. I was trying to decide how I wanted to handle it. I didn’t think…ah, whoops. I’m sorry.” Obi-Wan gave them both an abashed smile. “I thought I was being clear about that.”

“Could have been clearer,” Anakin said.

Obi-Wan smiled. “Alright. I will remember that. Though I will admit that was  _ not  _ how I planned on having that discussion, but she just pushed the wrong button.”

Anakin had then shooed Padmé from Obi-Wan’s person, only to give him a thorough kissing of his own. Padmé smiled at them both and began clearing the table, Anakin joining in when his mission was apparently accomplished.

Luminara and Obi-Wan’s relationship was a little strained for the next week or so. 

Plo seemed to take the whole thing in his stride, Padmé catching the edges of his and Obi-Wan’s conversation the next day. It seemed he understood Obi-Wan’s position and couldn’t disagree with a number of the things he had said. 

“You have given me much to meditate on, Obi-Wan,” Plo had said as he finished their conversation. “Thank you.”

Luminara, however, seemed to be more fixed in her opinions. She and Obi-Wan avoided each other for a few days afterward. Obi-Wan because, as he told Padmé, was "too upset with her to have a civilised conversation.” Instead, Anakin got to her first. They ended up having what Padmé could only describe as the loudest quiet argument ever witnessed in the upper lounge room. Eventually, Obi-Wan and Plo had been dragged into the whole thing. When it looked to be something that would go on for some time, Padmé left them to it, needing to do her vaporator rounds anyway. This was not an argument that needed her input. This was two very different Jedi worlds colliding. When she returned, she found Obi-Wan and Anakin talking quietly at the table.

“How’d that go?” Padmé asked, wiping her hair from her sticky forehead. “Seemed rather heated.”

“I think I won,” Anakin said brightly.

“Well,” Obi-Wan clarified, “I think we more managed to get Luminara to accept our choices and stop being so backwards about the whole thing. I still think she’s upset with us—”

“Not that she let’s that affect her,” Anakin added sarcastically. “ _ Someone _ clearly needs to meditate more.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at Anakin, but there was a hint of a smile around his mouth.

That at least seemed to settle the worst of it for now. Padmé suspected there would be more very strange Council Meetings over the next little while.

* * *

A month or so passed and Obi-Wan continued to make great strides in his recovery, figuratively speaking. He was still pretty slow at getting around, his ankle easily the most troublesome injury. The wound on his side had closed nicely, the area beginning to scar now that the tissue had finished regrowing, and the small lightsaber burns were all but gone. The bruise on his head was completely healed and Obi-Wan was gaining more and more energy.

Anakin was often at work, but when he wasn’t he was generally trailed by all the children in the household. Evidently word had gotten around that Anakin was fun and didn’t tell them off for having feelings. This seemed to be enough to gain him the adoration of all the former Padawans. Anakin often took them up into the cave for training or games, and generally tried to involve them in what was going on at home. The kids would sometimes hang around him in a group, or spend time with him individually. Obi-Wan found it hilarious, always smiling after them and referring to Anakin’s group as a pack of voorcats. Anakin seemed rather flattered by the nickname.  

As another effect of Obi-Wan’s terse words with Luminara over dinner, he too slowly gained the odd child dogging his footsteps. It was mainly Caleb who did so, but sometimes the others would try is as well. The twins, of course, spent the most amount of time with him, and as well as an unsettling amount of time with their new pirate friend. 

Hondo stayed for a couple more weeks, continuing in the boisterous manner he had been, teaching the children all sorts of illegal things such as where to get particular contrabands, and how to haggle for a better deal. At least the last one had a practical purpose on Tatooine. He also continued his eager flirtations and assertion of their status as ‘best friends’ with Obi-Wan. Weirdly enough, by the time Hondo left, Obi-Wan was appearing to get along much better with the pirate. Then, one day, Hondo announced his departure, interspaced with vehement promises of his hasty return to “continue to have such  _ splendid _ time with my best friend and my new cousins!” because, apparently, he had decided all of the kids were his cousins now and he had plans to spoil them. Padmé  _ was  _ apprehensive about what Hondo’s concept of spoiling might be

After his departure, everything truly settled again. Then, as it came upon a month of Obi-Wan being home, Padmé called Bail to deliver the results (or lack thereof) from all the documents she had been reading. The call was fairly standard, Padmé giving a brief summary of the information and Bail asking questions about it. Slowly, their conversation moved to more general goings-on of the rebellion. Bail told her about how well their little ‘Padmé Lives’ initiative was going, and from the sounds of it, it was proceeding very much as planned. It was annoying the living hell out of the Empire, as they often sent people to investigate sightings, and so the rebellion was able to use this to their advantage. One unseen benefit was that it meant they could do a magic trick where a ‘Padmé’ was sighted, drawing the Empire's attention in that direction, while the rebellion did other things away from the Empire's direct gaze. On top of that, it provided operatives with a good disguise to use on occasion if they didn’t want to give away their identities. Padmé found the idea of very serious operatives going around wearing long brown wigs and elaborate make-up  _ highly amusing _ . Finally, their conversation ended up where it usually did; swapping personal information and gossiping about their friends. Then Bail dropped a hot potato on Padmé’s lap.

“Padmé, I did have something I wanted to float past you,” Bail said slowly, crossing his fingers together and leaning forward on the desk he was seemingly sitting at. 

“Yes?”

“I think the rebellion is at a point when we, as planetary leaders set against the Empire, must come together and truly begin planning for the future,” Bail said evenly. "I’ve gathered a fair bit of support from a few planets and dignitaries, and am planning to hold a council meeting to discuss our long term plan for overthrowing the Empire in about a month's time. I was hoping you might be able to come?”

Padmé blinked. _Yes! Yes, please. This is what she was born to do._ Her mind latched onto the idea. This was perfect! She could help the rebellion! She could actively _do something_! She could get off Tatooine for a while! She took a deep breath to steady her wildly beating heart.

Her whole body strained to scream, ‘Yes! Of course!’ but Padmé knew it was not that easy. She wanted to, there was no doubt about that, but it was not only her decision to make.

“I would love to,” Padmé said slowly, “but it’s going to be difficult. I’d have to convince Anakin and Obi-Wan, and I’d need to be able to get there and back safely.”

“I can handle the second part of that if you can handle the first,” Bail replied. “I can get a ship to you, or rather Ahsoka can, and take you directly to where we plan to meet. It will be someone obscure and off the Empire’s radar, so you have my complete assurance on the safety of it.”

Padmé nodded. “Alright. I’ll speak to my partners when I have a chance.”

The former Senator mulled over the issue for a good week, trying to think of the best way to tackle to topic with Anakin and Obi-Wan. Finally, she decided to catch them separately, cornering Anakin while he was doing his vaporator round.

“So Ani, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

“Hmmm?” Anakin hummed, not looking up from the damaged air intake vent he was working on.

Padmé took a deep breath and began. “I’ve decided to go visit Bail in the next month—”

“ _ What _ ? No, you can’t go!” Anakin exclaimed, his eyes suddenly completely focused on her.

Padmé felt her eyebrows raise to new, unexplored heights. “I  _ can’t _ ?”

“No—I didn’t meant  _ that _ ,” Anakin back-pedalled for a moment. “I mean…I kind of do. It’s just, it’s not safe, Padmé.”

“I will be perfectly safe, everything will be organised beforehand and it will be fine.”

“No it’s not that—”

“—Do you trust Ahsoka, Rex, and Jesse?”

“Yes.”

“Do you trust  _ me _ ?”

“Of course.” He was silent for a long time before he spoke again, seeming to put his thoughts together. “What if the same thing that happened to Obi-Wan happens to you?” he asked in a whisper. “I can’t let you get hurt.”

And they were back to this again. Three years and the fall of a government and Anakin still couldn’t let her go. 

“Anakin, darling, I love you more than anything,” Padmé began, gentle and clear, her mind trying to get her words in order. “However, you cannot stop me from living my life.” She stroked her hand down his cheek, cupped his chin and stroked her thumb along his cheekbone. “Bail has managed to very nearly form a proper Alliance of planets against Palpatine. He  _ needs  _ me there with him. He needs my help.”

Anakin leant into the touch, his eyes falling closed for a minute.

He took a deep breath.

“No.”

“ _ No _ ?”

“No, Padmé,” Anakin repeated with conviction. “I honestly think this is a terrible idea and a great way to get yourself captured or killed.”

Padmé scoffed, dropping her hand. “I’m not going to be stupid about it! Bail assured me it would be safe and I know how to take care of myself!”

“ _ I know  _ that, Padmé. But you’re not thinking straight about this!” Anakin responded. “I know you want to help and you want to get of Tatooine but right now is not the time!”

“And it will never be the time if we don’t do something about the Empire!” Padmé countered.

“You know that’s not what I meant—

“Don’t I?” Padmé said sharply. “I’m trying to  _ help _ Bail—”

“You’re not listening to me!” Anakin cried, taking a step backward.

“I could say the same.”

“—You should have listened to me when I said something felt wrong before Obi-Wan left!” Anakin shot back. “You should listen to me  _ now _ . I’m being  _ sensible _ about this. I’m not making a rash decision—”

A trill sounded between them and Anakin stopped mid-sentence, reaching for his pocket.

Padmé huffed at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“We can talk about this later,” Anakin said, looking at a message on his comm-device. “I have an emergency in town.”

“Fine,” Padmé replied curtly.

She stalked back inside. 

The house was quiet, Obi-Wan having taken the twins up to the training cave for an outing hours ago. She sat down hard on the couch, curling up into the corner and balling a pillow up on her lap. Padmé frowned angrily down at the pillow, feeling thoroughly indignant at the whole situation. 

It wasn’t  _ fair!  _ Padmé  _ finally _ had an opportunity to go do something  _ real  _ for the rebellion, finally had a chance to be helpful, and do her  _ fucking job again _ . 

Her foot jiggled uncontrollably on the couch. 

Anakin didn’t understand that! She had never asked for something like this and she was being immediately shot down! 

Padmé buried her face in the pillow and groaned out her frustrations.

_ Why couldn’t Anakin see how important this was to her!? _

Padmé stayed on the couch for some time longer, wallowing in her frustrations. Eventually, she came back to herself, splayed across the sofa while glaring at the roof. This was getting her nowhere. She needed something to do. 

Padmé decided that bread was always good for taking out her frustrations on. She stood up from the couch and set out upon her new mission. As Padmé finished aggressively kneading the dough together, she heard shrieking as the front door flew open.

“Mummy! Mummy!” came Leia’s excited yell. “There’s a  _ wholelotta _ banthas outside!”

“Banthas! Banthas! Banthas!” Luke chanted, running up behind Leia. “Comeon Mum! We gotta show th’other kids!”

“Okay, okay,” Padmé placated them, washing her hands. “First of all though, what did you do with Daddy?”

“He’s coming,” Leia promised. “He’s a’lil slow. He’sokay.”

“Right. Leia, you go get the other kids, Luke you help me collect bantha snacks. Good?”

Both of the twins nodded vigorously. Leia took off at top speed for the stairs while Luke clambered up the stairs to the kitchen proper, listing off all the things he knew banthas liked to eat. Padmé helped Luke pick out suitable vegetables and put them in a large basket. Then Padmé found a bucket and filled it up with water. Obi-Wan hobbled in on his crutch just as they were finishing preparations looking hot and tired. He gave Padmé a peck on the cheek and told her he was in desperate need of a nap and to put his foot up for a while. Padmé waved him off, confident she could supervise bantha time. As Obi-Wan opened the door to the stairs, a trail of children raced in, Leia appearing first to be followed by the others. All of them looked very excited and Padmé couldn’t help but smile. Obi-Wan sent her a final wave and headed downstairs.

“Okay everyone, we have some snacks and water for the banthas,” Padmé said. “Now, there are a few rules around the banthas—”

“We  _ know _ ,” Luke whined.

“I know you do, but our guests don’t. So a few things. You need to move slowly and calmly around them. They are herd animals so if you spook them they will run away, and given that they are much much bigger than you, is not very safe. If you’re feeding them, keep your palms flat if you want to keep all your fingers. Otherwise, be sensible,” Padmé finished. “Think you can do that?”

All of the children nodded quickly.

“Good, come get some food then.”

Padmé was immediately swarmed by kids as they grabbed what they could, Caleb taking the bucket of water and the others taking a variety of snacks from what Padmé and Leia had put together. Once everyone was ready, Padmé picked up the basket with all the leftover snacks and they headed outside.

Like every time they had visited before, the banthas moved between the vaporators with more careful grace than Padmé would have thought they’d have. The group appeared to be made up of around fourteen or fifteen banthas, with most of the herd further from the house, and a few, bolder creatures, heading hopefully in their direction. 

To begin with, Padmé watched their newer guests first. She trusted her children to be sensible with the banthas, especially since Obi-Wan had taught them how to connect to them in the Force the last time the wooly group had passed by. 

Caleb was drenched in water in seconds. At the prospect of clean water, the young man was surrounded by thirsty animals, all lapping at the same bucket. Between their large tongues and their determination to get at the water, much of it was spilled back onto Caleb and onto the ground. Caleb grinned through the whole exchange, confidently holding the slowly emptying bucket in front of him and speaking soothingly to his new entourage.

Aulu watched the exchange between Caleb and the banthas with interest before she distracted one of the creatures with a gourd. The beast trailed after her and feasted happily on the vegetable when the Twi-lek offered it up. Aulu stared at the animal with wide, excited eyes, carefully reaching up her hand to pet its snout in long, gentle strokes. When the gourd was gone, the bantha began shoving forward at Aulu, snuffling at her clothing for more snacks. Aulu laughed, buffeted around by its large snout. 

“You’ve made a friend,” Padmé noted, enjoying the bright grin Aulu threw at her. Padmé nodded at the basket in her hands, encouraging the girl to come get more bantha food.

Zatt and Zaria were slowly approaching a smaller bantha together. The pair were holding hands, with Zatt clearly talking calmly to the younger girl. In their free hands, each had a piece of fruit nestled in their palms, carefully outstretched toward the bantha. Pace by pace, the two approached and watched in apprehension as the large creature trundled toward them inquisitively. When the bantha’s large, wet mouth closed around the pear in Zaria’s grasp, she giggled, a bright smile breaking out on her face, “It tickles!” bursting from her lips. Zatt grinned back at her and waited for the animal to finish the first fruit and go for the one he was holding.

When Padmé finally went looking for where her children had gotten off to, she spotted Luke squashed up against a wooly friend, his face pressed into the thick fur and stroking his hands up and down around him. The bantha seemed to enjoy it, or at least tolerate it, accepting Luke’s attentions. 

Leia sat on the ground in front of one that was lying near to a vaporator. She sat perfectly still and stared into its large eyes. Slowly, she was shimmying towards it, a small hand outstretched. Eventually, she got close enough to rest her hand against its snout.

Half an hour later when all the fruit and vegetables were gone from the basket and the banthas had drunk through a good four buckets of water, all of the children were attached to a bantha, stroking or talking to them happily. Padmé had ended up on the ground beside Leia, watching her pet her bantha. Padmé decided that if they ever got off this planet, both twins would really enjoy having a pet of some kind. 

Eventually when the banthas decided it was time to move on to sandier pastures, the assorted children began a game of chase. Caleb nobly took up the mantle of ‘it’ and shepherded the younger kids around the yard, creating a chorus of shrieks and laughter that would likely be heard for miles. Padmé herded them all back inside when Luke and Zaria looked almost ready to pass out.

Once inside, Padmé handed them all some snacks and glasses of water. They then kept themselves entertained by chatting amongst themselves. Leia and Zaria ended up curled up with some paper and pencils, drawing determinedly. Once Padmé was certain none were dehydrated or over-tired, she set about finishing the bread she’d started earlier, and began putting dinner together. Anakin briefly appeared in the lounge, giving Padmé a smile and a wave, before he went downstairs. Padmé was pleased that the afternoon of bantha-related excitement had cooled most of her fire in regards the their argument. From the looks of it, Anakin’s day had done the same for him. Padmé focused on finishing dinner with help from Caleb and Aulu, the two fetching and measuring out ingredients for her.

Dinner was a little awkward. Padmé and Anakin were amicable to one another, but the argument sat heavily between them, and continuing it with Kix and the children in the room didn’t seem like a great idea. Also, Padmé had yet to bring it up with Obi-Wan, so now was definitely not the time. Once dinner was done, the twins scurried off to spend more time with their friends, and Kix, who’d looked likely to pass out in his food after a long day of what he described as, “a ludicrous amount of blaster wounds,” was sent on his way.

“So Anakin talked to me about what you want to do,” Obi-Wan said as the three of them tidied up dinner.

“And?” Padmé asked, putting the plate she was holding back down to the table..

Obi-Wan took a breath in. “I’m sorry Padmé but I really have to agree with Anakin. Leaving now, so soon, is a monumentally foolish idea.”

“You  _ just _ went—”

“—Yes, and we now know that they were expecting me,  _ waiting for me. _ We  _ know _ they are actively looking for us right now,” Obi-Wan replied. “We don’t know  _ how  _ they knew I was coming, but they unequivocally did. I barely got away and I have years of military experience.” 

Padmé was quiet.

Anakin sighed. “I understand it’s not fair to keep you trapped on the planet and I know this is never what you hoped for in your life for us, and I am truly sorry that my actions landed us here. But we also don’t want you making a choice that is very likely to put you and our family in the sights of these Inquisitors and the like, so, Obi-Wan and I came up with another suggestion.”

Padmé blinked. “Oh?”

“We want you to wait on it,” Obi-Wan said. “Wait for at least 6 months or so until Bail next has one of these big meetings and go then. It gives us and him time to  _ really _ ensure it’s safe and that no-one is on high alert and actively looking for us.”

Padmé nodded thoughtfully at the idea.

“Also, Obi-Wan should be healed by then and has offered to go with you,” Anakin continued. “That way you’d be able to watch out for each other.”

“You…wouldn’t want to come?” Padmé asked Anakin.

He made a face. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but I have responsibilities here. I couldn’t leave them,” Anakin replied. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I…well…a while back I ran into my old friend Kitster and we’ve been helping repair things in the slave quarters whenever were can. Between that work and  _ all  _ of the other repair work I do, I’m fairly certain Tatooine would fall apart in about two weeks if I left.”

Oh, she hadn’t known about that, or that he was back in touch with Kitster. Given the way Anakin was staring down at his hands and was faintly pink around his cheeks, Padmé could only assume he felt embarrassed about it. She left it alone.

“So. You’re both saying that you don’t actually mind me going, but you want me to wait for a safer opportunity down the line and take Obi-Wan with me?” Padmé checked. She wanted to be certain that’s what was being suggested here. 

“Essentially, yes,” Obi-Wan agreed. 

“We both understand how important this is to you, but we also don’t want you getting hurt,” Anakin finished. 

Padmé pressed her lips together, thinking. That…did seem fair. It seemed Anakin  _ did  _ understand how much this meant to her and Padmé mentally rescinded her earlier angry thoughts. Also, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, yeah, she’d been making a pretty rash decision. Her desperation had definitely been overriding her logical decision making. 

Padmé nodded slowly. “Okay. Yes. That sounds like a good idea. I will tell Bail I’ll come to the next one then.”

Anakin smiled at her. “Thank you.”

Padmé sighed. “I know you’re right about this. It’s just frustrating.”

“I know.” Anakin pressed a reassuring kiss to her forehead. “Hopefully the next meeting isn’t too far off.”

It ended up being  _ fifteen _ months before Bail could organise another meeting.

* * *

The next year and a bit passed in fits and bursts. As suggested, Obi-Wan did move into a similar kind of behind the scenes work for the rebellion as Padmé, but with more of a focus on organising and planning unit movements and reading over a variety of field reports. He would still look at the policy and communication documents that Padmé did, but with much less regularity. It took time and it took patience, but his physical recovery also finally got there, with all his wounds healing completely. Of course, the moment he was cleared fully by Kix, Obi-Wan went a little overboard on the training end of things. He threw himself back into katas, apparently helping to rebuild lost muscle, and then dragging Anakin off for a  _ lot _ of sparring sessions. He seemed very determined to not let the same thing happen ever again. 

Somehow, this then extended to the children, Caleb apparently leaping at the opportunity to learn from Anakin and Obi-Wan. Once Caleb took the initiative, Zatt and Aulu followed. Zaria didn’t seem interested. She did katas with the twins, but didn’t seem to want to do much more than that. Whenever Obi-Wan and Anakin moved into more combat oriented skills and training exercises, Leia and Zaria would come sit with Padmé and watch the others. Luke had decided that this  _ was _ something he wanted to do, and would enthusiastically join in. He would often end up partnered with Caleb who was being very patient in teaching him things. It was very sweet.

Padmé continued to practice her skills with a blaster, now with Wolffe’s serious but helpful company—and Rex’s when he was home. Rex also continued to have saber lessons with Anakin from time to time, a practice which seemed to further deepen their friendship. 

Ahsoka, Rex, and Jesse came and went at Bail’s bidding, with Jesse home more often than the other two. Plo had just about tackled Ahsoka when she first arrived home, throwing his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into a very tight hug. Ahsoka had cried. Zatt had cried on Ahsoka when he realised what all the fuss was about. Padmé hadn’t caught what it was about, but clearly they had some sort of past together. Caleb just stared at her with stars in his eyes. Rex and Jesse had cried upon finding Wolffe also in the house. Well, it had started as laughter, coming into the stoic commander sitting at the table, reading what could only be a very steamy romance novel, and then fallen into happy crying. Wolffe took it on the chin, quite literally, as he was bowled into a rough embrace from his brothers. If Padmé thought his eyes were damper than usual, she chose not to notice. Rex, it was also fun to note, had kept his end of the bargaining with Kix and was continuing to let his hair and beard grow. The hair on his head now reached past his ears. He seemed to keep his facial hair fairly trimmed and neat as well. Overall, it was a good look on him. He also seemed happier, but whether that was due to his sense of purpose, his freedom, or his good looks, Padmé didn’t know.

Hondo came and went as sporadically as one would expect of a wanted criminal and strangely doting uncle figure. He’d bring wine and blasters for the adults, which, were not the worst presents he could have gone with, and the blasters were useful for life on Tatooine. Unfortunately, Hondo figured that blasters were also good gifts for children which, no. Just, no. Padmé had confiscated all of the weapons the first time and had a quiet but polite chat with Hondo about what things were and were not okay for children to have. He thankfully took this to heart and only brought the world’s ugliest stuffed toys home for all of the children. The kids loved them. Luke fell in love with what could only be described as a eeopie crossed with a ysalamiri that had been run over a few times by a speeder. Luke called him Fellow. Wolffe’s name for the toy was less polite.

Their older Jedi guests slowly acclimatised more and more, Luminara eventually coming to completely accept their relationship. It took time and a number of conversations, but what seemed to really seal the deal was when Obi-Wan and Anakin taught both Plo and Luminara to contact Qui-Gon. For some reason, the opinions of known maverick Qui-Gon Jinn seemed to convince Luminara that this was the way forward. Obi-Wan had been very confused by it all. Plo seemed beyond pleased to regain an old friend.

Overall, the former Padawans seemed more happy and relaxed as time went on. Compared to the wide-eyed, starving things they’d been when they arrived, it warmed Padmé’s soul to see such a positive change in them. Under Anakin and Obi-Wan’s gentle hands, they became open, emotional, normal children. The change did not go unnoticed by Plo and Luminara, but neither interfered and seemed to accept this as the best way to move forward. As it drew close to it being a full year since they had arrived, the two ex-Jedi Masters began joining everyone else for training in the cave. As time went on, both their guests and their own family continued to relax as the Empire remained unable to find them all.

The Empire itself as a whole seemed to go on in the usual fashion, but the hyper focus of trying to find Anakin or Obi-Wan died off around seven-odd months after Obi-Wan’s run in with the Inquisitors. From all the intelligence Bail had been able to gather, they’d lost all trails and leads on their whereabouts and the search fell back to it’s normal low-level anti-Jedi baseline. 

Otherwise, life progressed much as it had in the past few years. They had a life day party for the twins when it came around, with the pair turning four. This was then followed by the other children deciding that they wanted to do that too, and so they had four more parties scattered throughout the year. 

Barada came and went for his usual bribe, inevitably upping the price citing the number of people in their household required more money. Apparently ‘protecting’ more people cost Jabba more. Padmé’s perky ass did Jabba do anything to protect anyone.

The Boonta Eve Classic then rolled around and Anakin and Ahsoka somehow managed to scrounge together the final few parts for the pod and get it running two weeks before the race. They were cutting it rather fine, but given how busy the two of them were, Padmé was surprised they managed to even put a pod together. 

Padmé, as with every year before, stayed home with the twins while Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and an entourage of clones headed out. This year, Padmé had much more company than just the twins. On the suggestion of Zatt, who seemed particularly attached to Ahsoka, the pack of children went about making a spread of celebratory cakes and biscuits for their favourite Togrutan. Most of the snacks turned out nicely, a few looked a little dodgy, and Padmé did have to toss out a small pan when Aulu had managed to burn rather a lot of sugar to it in an attempt to make caramel. She’d been very apologetic, and Padmé assured her it was replaceable and not to worry about it.

Ahsoka had burst through the door in excitement, shouting, “We came second!” only to be drowned out by a chorus of celebratory yells from all the kids. Ahsoka had been immediately swarmed and then shoved towards all the spoils of her win. Given how much energy pod-racing takes out of a being, Ahsoka inhaled a lot of the food, the remainder being picked off by the children, the clones, and Anakin. Padmé had snacked on more than enough batter and dough to want even a little bit.

Everything in their lives was progressing nicely, even if Padmé was internally itching to get off world. She had really hoped that Bail would organise another meeting sooner.

Then, fifteen months after his initial offer, Bail finally contacted her with news of their next proper rebellion meeting. Padmé had been ready to leap out of her chair at the news, promising Bail that yes, she was pretty sure she could come to this one, but still needed to quickly double check with her partners. Padmé had left the call open as the hurried upstairs to find either man. She found Anakin at the table and quickly double checked that he and Obi-Wan still stood with their previous proposal. Anakin had nodded, muttering, “Of course, the Empire’s been really quiet. Now seems like a better time.” Padmé had kissed him and raced back down to Bail, ready for more details. Bail had been equally excited that she would be able to make it this time. He seemed  _ certain _ that she, and likely Obi-Wan as well, could do a galaxy of good.

“So what’s the plan?” Obi-Wan asked when Padmé returned upstairs a good hour or so later. 

Obi-Wan was in the kitchen, slicing a melon into segments with Anakin sitting at the dining table examining some kind of mechanical item spread across the tabletop in pieces.

“We leave in two weeks—Ahsoka and Rex will come and pick us up—and then ferry us directly to the meeting planet with no stops along the way. We’ll stay for the length of the summit, but likely no more that two weeks, and then do the same journey back, taking a slightly different route to avoid being predictable.” Padmé sat at the other end of the table to Anakin, her finger lightly touching one of the parts before her. “Bail is taking every precaution he can think of with this meeting. He’s being an appropriate amount of paranoid with us and everyone else who’s agreed to come along. Apparently, he’s managed to get far more planets on our side, or at least interested.”

“Where exactly are we going, if I may ask?” Obi-Wan pressed, placing the plate of fruit on a gap in Anakin’s work and sitting with the pair.

“Varonat,” Padmé replied, “it’s along the same corridor as Bespin.”

Anakin looked up. “Isn’t that kind of…near Mustafar?” he asked slowly.

Padmé nodded. “Still in the Outer Rim and everything; Bail is taking absolutely no chances with any of this. Apparently Ahsoka is helping to get the temporary base there up and running. Bail wants this to be a one off location so the Empire can’t expect any of us.”

“Smart,” Anakin muttered, refocusing on his work.

“So, since everything is looking pretty safe and organised, I was thinking of maybe talking one of the twins with us,” Padmé suggested hopefully. “We’re not going all that far and I think it would do them both good to have some time apart from one another.”

There was a beat of silence.

“It’s not a terrible idea,” Obi-Wan said thoughtfully. “We can’t keep them cooped up here forever.”

Anakin was pensive. “Looking at all the planning and precautions, the Empire would struggle to catch a hint of this, let alone make any kind of connection that you’d both be there…” Anakin trailed off. “The Empire has been pretty quiet for a while too.” He was silent for a time and closed his eyes.

Padmé waited for his final thoughts.

“Obi-Wan, can you feel anything bad in going that direction?” Anakin said finally, opening his eyes.

Padmé watched Obi-Wan’s gaze go far away.

He blinked back to himself. “No, the Force seems pretty calm about Varonat. Feels like it could be good?”

“The same for me,” Anakin said, nodding. “Okay, I don’t see why not.”

“Which twin do we take then?” Obi-Wan thought aloud.

“I think Leia would be our best bet,” Padmé said. “She doesn’t draw attention to herself in quite the way Luke does. It would be a good test run. If this meeting goes well and there are more nearby in the future, we could take Luke then.”

Anakin nodded. “Luke  _ does _ love to try and talk to literally everyone. I think Leia is a good choice, her Force control is more refined as well.”

“I’ll confirm with Bail on our next call that he doesn’t mind her tagging along,” Padmé said thoughtfully.

Obi-Wan smiled and picked up a slice of melon. “I’m fairly certain you’ll be more hard pressed to get her off of him at the end.”

As it turned out, Obi-Wan had the right of it, Bail was very excited at the suggestion.

They also decided for security’s sake that they would cut their hair again. Obi-Wan’s had grown to cover his ears, and Padmé’s was a good couple of inches past her shoulders. Padmé carefully trimmed his back to it’s normal length before he turned the scissors on her. Obi-Wan slowly worked away at her hair, initially hacking longer sections off before carefully following a line around the back of her head and along her jawline. 

“How is it?” Padmé asked when he was done, his hand dusting her skin of any leftover hairs.

Obi-Wan sighed, sadly. “You still look disgustingly beautiful.”

Padmé laughed.

* * *

The next week passed in a blur of preparation. Ahsoka, Jesse, and Rex arrived home and were greeted by the excitable welcoming committee of children. Jesse was very happy to be home, immediately changing out of his ‘blending in’ clothes, and into his ‘none of these colours work together but somehow I pull it off’ clothes. Jesse was staying home for this mission. He’d wanted a bit of a break, and they all decided it would be handy to have an extra pair of hands at home. Jesse had been very honoured to be trusted with babysitting his precious Joystick during the day when Anakin and Kix would often leave.

Luke wasn’t exactly happy that Leia was getting to go off planet while he wasn’t, but perked up a little when he was promised that he could go on the next one. Assuming there was one, but Padmé kept that piece of information to herself. Unless the rebellion imploded upon itself before defeating the Empire, Padmé saw these meetings becoming a semi-regular thing. Also, Jesse had promised Luke snacks, which was  _ always _ an effective bribe.

Ahsoka and Rex slept a whole lot during their short stay, evidently catching up on missed hours over the past mission. It seemed that setting up a secret rebel conference took a lot of hard work and time. When they weren’t sleeping, they were making plans with Padmé and Obi-Wan or playing with the kids.  

Then, _ finally finally finally _ , the day came for them to leave.

Padmé’s chest felt light and almost full enough to burst. 

_ She was getting off of Tatooine!  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear, I fucking LOVE Luminara, but at the same time, this is a woman who was like ‘Oh well I guess our Padawans are fucking dead, Skywalker, it’s best to move on’ 0.02 seconds after Ahsoka and Barriss were in an explosion. so like, she always seemed Peak Council Opinions to me, whereas Plo is my Cool Dad 4 Lyf. 
> 
> Also, as a side note, I don’t know why I thought having this many characters would be a good idea. Writing a chapter is like juggling 15 independently moving balls right now. I am looking forward to the limited characters in the next chapter (cue dawning realisation of how much research the next chapter is going to need: damn it).


	27. Rebellion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another one! Look at me go! Wheeee! As a note, I’ve done a bit of time fuckery here but I also have reasons for that, so if you notice/care, there’s an explanation in the end notes.
> 
> Another huge thanks and shout out to my beta Matlida_Nicki who continues to be hella rad at beta-ing my word mess! Love your work! As always, I am happy for constructive criticism regardless.
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Anakin drove them all in to Mos Eisley, staying a good half an hour or so to see them off. He’d pulled Padmé and Obi-Wan into separate, long, breathtaking kisses before wishing them safe travels. Leia, he’d pulled into his arms and spoken to in warm, hushed tones for as long as he could, waiting for Ahsoka to pick up their pilot.

Unfortunately, Ahsoka was taking longer than expected, and, although Anakin stayed for as long as he could, eventually he had to leave the waiting group.

“Stay safe, yeah?” Anakin whispered against Obi-Wan’s lips for a final time, running his left hand through Obi-Wan’s hair, the cold metal of his other hand resting against his neck.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan replied. “You keep out of trouble too.”

Anakin just shot him a wonky grin, patted his shoulder, and headed back toward the speeder. Obi-Wan watched him briefly rest his hand on Artoo’s dome and mutter something to the droid before letting Artoo go and vanishing into the crowd.

After watching him leave, Obi-Wan led Leia partway up the ramp to the ship Ahsoka had pointed them to. The four year old was very excited and far too overstimulated for so early in the morning. She was holding his hand very tightly while alternating between pacing around him as far as their arms extended, or bouncing up and down. Leia also had Gub clutched in her other hand, having insisted that the toy _had_ to come with them.

Padmé watched them from where she stood, quietly talking to Rex. The former trooper had only been home for the past week and so much of it had been making sure they were prepared for this trip. From the sounds of it, the pair were catching up on each other’s lives.

“Soka!” Leia called a few minutes later, straining forward in Obi-Wan’s grip towards where he could see the Togruta approaching with another woman.

Obi-Wan released her hand and Leia went running into Ahsoka’s waiting arms.

“Are’we going now?” Leia asked excitedly. “I’m ready.”

“That’s good,” Ahsoka replied. “We are ready to go now. Why don’t you go grab your bag and hop on the ship?”

Leia nodded very fast and took off back towards Obi-Wan. She made a brief detour to where their bags were sitting, snatching her small satchel up before zeroing back in on him.

“Come on, come on!” Leia said, shoving Obi-Wan further up the ramp, her small hands pressing into his legs. “Daddy, it’s time’ta go! We gotta go!”

Obi-Wan laughed and let himself be shepherded into the ship. He heard Ahsoka laughing behind him followed by a chorus of feet and droid wheels coming up the gangway after them.

As they reached the top of the ramp, Leia stopped pushing him and ran ahead, poking around in the ship. Obi-Wan turned back to see Ahsoka walk past him with a smile, followed by their pilot.

“Hey,” the pilot greeted, Yarro’s familiar face smiling as she approached him.  

“It is good to see you again, Yarro,” Obi-Wan greeted warmly. “How did you get saddled with ferrying us around?”

“Honestly? I’m one of the few, for obvious reasons, who is cleared to know where you live. I was the _only option_ for being saddled with this.” She grinned at him. “It is good to see you both too.” She glanced at Padmé. “I am very interested to see how this summit goes.” Final word given, the rebel walked past him and into the ship.

“Now that you are free of Leia,” Padmé began, walking up to him with two bags in her hands, “I do believe this is yours.” She passed him his bag and they both headed inside.

Ahsoka greeted them in the hallway, quickly pointing at doorways and informing the couple of what each lead to. The ship had two bunks and Ahsoka directed them toward the one further back in the ship near the ‘fresher, Rex, Ahsoka, and Yarro evidently taking the one beside the cockpit. Artoo disappeared into the cockpit, beeping something about being helpful.

Leia investigated their room thoroughly, opening any drawer or cupboard she could reach. Once she was satisfied with that, she settled on the floor and began neatly laying out the things she had packed in her satchel on a nearby shelf. Her actual clothes and useful items were in with Obi-Wan and Padmé’s things, but Leia had demanded her own bag to carry with items she wanted to bring. Obi-Wan watched her lay out her favourite book about three children going on an adventure, two plastic ships, and a very ugly hat that Hondo had brought home. It was a filthy orange with erratic blue stripes. Padmé hated seeing her daughter in the thing, always making a tiny pained face when she saw it, but continued to say nothing given how attached Leia had become. Leia thought it was beautiful.

Obi-Wan didn’t bother unpacking any of their things given how short the journey would be. He looked at the two sets of bunks.

“Leia, where do you want to sleep?” Padmé asked. “Do you want your own bed or do you want to share.”

Leia looked up from her array of belongings. “Share please.”

“Are you all unpacked, Leia?” Obi-Wan asked, placing his bag on the left hand bunk and watching Padmé doing the same to the right.

“Yep,” she replied.

“Do you want to watch the ship take off?”

Leia’s eyes went wide and a bright grin exploded onto her face. “Yes!” She left her things where they lay and made a break for the door, staring at Obi-Wan from the open doorway. Obi-Wan followed her out of the room and led her further up the ship and into a small communal area/kitchen with a pair of large windows on the outer walls. Leia was at them in a heartbeat, standing up on her toes and looking out to the Mos Eisley shipyard. They watched the comings and goings of all kinds of beings for a few minutes, Rex throwing her a wave from outside as he unplugged the fuel line.

When they were ready to go Leia watched Tatooine disappear beneath them with wide eyes and an awed mouth. She was quivering where she stood, staring fixedly on the way the planet slowly became smaller and smaller, and then disappeared into light as the hyperdrive kicked in.

“Are you alright?” Obi-Wan asked, drawing a little closer to Leia and touching his hand to her head.

“Yeah,” Leia said, still watching. “It’so far away!”

They stood together quietly, just watching the stars fly by until Leia decided she wanted to go read her book.

The flight took a couple of days and didn’t stop anywhere along the route. Padmé spent most of that time reading back over documents that Bail had sent her on who would be attending and suggested topics for discussion. Obi-Wan had glanced over it briefly, noting a few names he recognised. In his mind, this trip was more for Padmé; he was here to help where he could and wrangle Leia if needed.

That first morning passed quickly and Leia kept herself occupied by reading and playing with her toys until lunch was ready, Rex mourning the loss of Jesse’s cooking to Tatooine. Leia then had the time of her life, bouncing from one adult to another with questions and boundless enthusiasm. By the time dinner came around, Rex had an array of braids in his hair all of varying sizes and levels of quality.

The single night they spent on the ship was a long one. Leia was far too wound up to sleep soundly, frequently waking up during the night and then struggling to get back to sleep. She hopped between both her parents beds restlessly, thoroughly ensuring that none of them slept well.

For the final morning of their flight, Ahsoka kept Leia busy for some time, going over training and playing a few games together; Obi-Wan and Padmé used the time to get in a quick nap. Then, Obi-Wan had offered to watch the cockpit for a while which Leia decided she needed to accompany him for. She sat on his lap, a warm weight on his knees, and watched the stars fly by with wonder before probing him with questions about what all the buttons did. Artoo contributed to the conversation by beeping at her and projecting holo examples of the results of pushing said buttons.

Then, as the pair of them sat in the cockpit, the ship came out of hyperspace as they drew close to Varonat. Leia ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the planet until they were kicked out of the cockpit by Yarro.

Leia grabbed her father’s hand and dragged him back to the communal space, once again staring out through the windows. As the ship slowly descended through the atmosphere of the planet, Obi-Wan first noticed a thick covering of vibrant green covering most of the surface of the planet. As they got closer, the green transformed into more defined trees, with great thick trunks and sturdy twining branches. Leia stood with her nose pressed against the window, muttering, “It’s so _green,_ Daddy!”

Slowly the ship came upon a city rising from between the trees, deep reds and browns staining the outer walls of the buildings. It appeared deserted; there were tendrils of plants beginning to reclaim the civilisation. Twisting vines crawled up buildings while bushy plants grew scattered through broken segments of concrete. There was some evidence of old trash blowing in the breeze and catching in small corner deposits.

“It’s empty,” Leia said softly, looking out with wide eyes.

Obi-Wan hummed in agreement. “Looks like we’re landing over there,” he said, pointing over towards where he could see a congregation of small ships in a wide open space. Judging from the variety of designs, they had rather an eclectic group ahead of them.

The moment the ship touched the ground, Leia was off again. Obi-Wan looked up to find Padmé standing in the door. He smiled. “Leia really has places she needs to be, doesn’t she?” he asked.

Padmé grinned, before solemnly saying, “She’s very important and she can’t keep everyone waiting. Come on, I’ll bet she’s packing up her things. We should grab ours.” Padmé curled their fingers together, pausing for just a moment to press up close and leave a kiss on his chin. Obi-Wan kissed her nose in return and the pair made for their room.

Padmé was indeed correct and they found Leia carefully repacking her belongings, Gub getting squashed in last as Leia tied the bag shut. That done, Leia stared expectantly at the two adults. Padmé and Obi-Wan grabbed their own bags and stood about in the hallway, waiting for everyone else to get sorted. Eventually, the ship powered down into silence and Ahsoka appeared in the hallway. She lowered the ramp of the ship and began walking down.

“Follow me,” Ahsoka said, nodding her head toward the city. “We’ve taken over a rather nice hotel. Bail should be waiting for us there.”

Obi-Wan watched Padmé smile in anticipation and follow Ahsoka at a brisk pace with Artoo close behind her. Obi-Wan secured his bag before offering Leia his spare hand. She took it happily and they followed after the two women. Rex seemed to be staying behind to help Yarro with post-flight maintenance.

Leia stared wildly around them, taking in the lush green foliage and the grand building they were approaching. It was very large and certainly fit Ahsoka’s description of being a ‘nice hotel’. It appeared to be around fifteen stories high and had a sprawling building complex and grounds. At one point, it must have been a glorious deep cobalt, but after years of abandonment, the outside of the building was a very dirty, washed out blue.

Ahsoka held open one of the gilt doors, letting Padmé in first before waiting on Obi-Wan and Leia. Ahsoka stuck her tongue out at her as they passed, Leia grinning and returning the look. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

The foyer looked much the same as the outside; once fine, but now fallen into disrepair. The carpets were lush, but dusty and stained. The windows were clearly stained beautiful colours, but most were covered in a thick layer of grime. The wooden paneling around the room, intended for a luxurious feel, did not shine the way Obi-Wan would think they should. It was, however, easily the nicest building Leia had ever been in.

“Bail!” Obi-Wan heard Padmé cry. He watched her rush forward and pull her friend into a tight hug. He looked much the same as he always did, broad and vibrant, decked in his fine Senatorial wear. Leia wriggled out of Obi-Wan’s hand and trotted up to stand beside her mother, looking up at Bail.

“I’ll leave you both to it,” Ahsoka said quietly. “I’ve got things to do.” She gave Obi-Wan a smile and a wave which he echoed back, before striding off and vanishing through a nearby door.

“Padmé, my dear, it is wonderful to see you,” Bail said warmly, his voice drawing Obi-Wan’s attention. Their friend was smiling down at her, a clearly excited to be able to reunite at last. Looking at the two, Obi-Wan was once again reminded how how kriffing tall Bail was. “And I see you brought your little friend here.”

“I’m Leia,” she told Bail confidently, “and she’s not my friend, she’s my _Mum_.”

Padmé covered her mouth, clearly hiding a laugh.

“Lovely to meet you, Leia. I’m Bail.”

Leia frowned. “From Artoo?”

Bail laughed. “I suppose, technically, yes.”

“Leia, when we talk to Bail it’s like talking to me when I’m on a trip,” Obi-Wan explained. “He’s real, just very far away.”

“Oh. Okay.” Leia seemed to think hard on that.

Bail looked at them for a moment longer. “May I?” He motioned, open armed, toward Leia.

“If you want, though she’s not as light as she once was,” Padmé replied.

Bail opened his arms in offering to Leia and she went willingly, her fists grasping at Bail’s shirt and cloak, staring at his face closely. He gave her a big, warm smile as he examined the girl.

“I like you,” Leia declared suddenly and began poking her finger at Bail’s carefully kept goatee.

Bail smiled again, letting her investigate, before turning to Obi-Wan. “It is good to see you in person as well, Obi-Wan. It has been rather a long time.” Bail shuffled Leia onto his hip with strength Obi-Wan hadn’t suspected he had, and held out his other arm in offering of an embrace. Obi-Wan stepped forward, taking the offered welcome and hugging his friend in return.

“Ah, I think it will be very good to have you here,” Bail said auspiciously, pulling back, “but first I should show you to your rooms. I’m sure the three of you could do with a nap. Space travel always makes me sleepy.”

Bail nodded his head, Leia still in his arms, and led the four of them into an elevator. Bail hit the eleven and the cab began its ascent.

“Why’s everything empty?” Leia asked Bail, fiddling with the collar of his coat.

“The city used to have a thriving population, but a series of pirate attacks cleared everyone out,” Bail said to Leia before focusing on her parents. “Once we had permission from the locals—they are not at all sympathetic to the Empire—we started setting this building up.”

“When do the talks begin?” Padmé asked as the doors to the elevator opened.

“Tomorrow,” Bail replied, stepping forward into the wide hall. “We’re still waiting on a few arrivals and you’ll want a good night’s sleep before we get going.”

Leia stared around the building in wonder, alternating between looking at the building, looking at Bail, and watching the occasional person go by.

Padmé had her lips pressed together, seemingly thinking. “How are we handling my ‘death’?”

“However you want to,” Bail said, readjusting Leia on his hip. “We can announce it in the morning or you can sit through the talks anonymously. I trust your judgement.”

Padmé nodded thoughtfully. “Perhaps we wait then. I think I’d like to get a read on everyone without my resurrection being _a thing_.”

“That seems like a good tactic,” Obi-Wan said.

Bail agreed with a hum. “We do have a few dissenting voices who are unhappy with the Empire but not quite convinced on officially joining the rebellion. Not knowing who you are could be an advantage.”

Their chatter continued on innocuous topics before Bail stopped before a door marked ‘1109’.

“This is you,” Bail said, handing Padmé a small blue gem. Holding a matching gem, Bail held it up to the square silver pad on the door and they watched it swish open. Bail motioned them inside and handed Obi-Wan the gem he’d been holding.

It was a beautiful room. There was a short hallway past the door, lined by cupboards before quickly opening onto a bright room. The entirety of the outer wall was glass, crystal clear and overlooking a stunning, if overgrown garden, that bordered the forest. The room itself was filled with furniture and amenities. Nearest to the windows were two battered but clean couches and a small table. To the left of that, pushed up against the wall was a desk and an accompanying chair. All of the tables in the room boasted a deep brown wood, while the couches and chair by the desk appeared to be a plush mint. Further back and closer to them was a four seater dining table and a kitchenette set back into the wall opposite to the windows. To the right of them in the wall were three doors.

“Bedroom, bathroom, bedroom,” Bail said succinctly, pointing down the line of doors in quick succession. “There’s running water in the taps in the kitchen and the fridge has power, but we’ve organised for meals to be served together downstairs, so there’s nothing up here.” He pointed at the large windows. “There’s a control panel over to the right, so you can turn the glass opaque for privacy. It can also to be used as a screen, but we’ve left it all unhooked for security. Artoo could use it if he wanted, but otherwise you won’t get anything on there.”

Leia squirmed in Bail’s hold, asking, “Can I get down please?” Bail nodded and placed the young girl back on the ground. Leia proceeded to investigate the space thoroughly, ducking into the first room on the right, Artoo following in behind her.

“She seems excited to be off-world,” Bail said, watching her go.

“Very,” Padmé agreed. “Luke was devastated he couldn’t come as well, but we promised him next time.”

“I would love to meet him.” Bail clapped his hands together. “Now, I think I shall leave you to a little quiet. Dinner is at six, just take the elevator down and people will direct you. Any questions?”

Both Obi-Wan and Padmé shook their heads.

“Excellent. I shall see you at dinner.” At that, Bail swept out of the room, the door swishing closed behind him.

“This is all rather nice,” Obi-Wan said into the quiet, knocking shoulders with Padmé.

Padmé smiled at him. “Bail is a man of great tastes,” she replied. “He was never going to have dignitaries staying in a network of caves if he could help it."

Leia suddenly reappeared from the first door, and immediately ducked into the second.

“She’s going to need a nap if she’s not going to crash hard tonight,” Obi-Wan noted.

“I completely agree, why don’t you take her for some meditation or kata practice once she’s finished searching the rooms,” Padmé said. “That often calms her down.”

The afternoon passed quietly. Obi-Wan went through an easy, relaxing kata with Leia in the main room, before relocating to the bedroom for some meditation. They both sat on the bed, legs crossed and facing one another. Leia spent the first ten minutes of the meditation being resistant and still a little twitchy, but by the twenty minute mark, she was flat on her back and snoring. Obi-Wan placed a spare blanket over her and snuck out of the room.

While Leia slept they made a brief call home to Anakin to confirm they’d made it without issue. They told him of everything that had happened, especially Leia’s over enthusiastic interest in everything. Anakin updated them on his couple of days which followed his usual routine.

“You look tired,” Obi-Wan said finally. He did. Anakin was blinking rather slowly and frequently. He’d already yawned twice in the last ten minutes.

Anakin shrugged, waving his hand vaguely. “I guess I’ve gotten too used to sharing a bed. Luke ended up sneaking in with me around two a.m. and I slept fine after that.”

“Look after yourself, darling,” Padmé said warmly.

Anakin nodded. “I will, though I think I’ll just let Luke stay with me while you’re gone. He misses Leia.”

As though summoned, Luke suddenly appeared in the picture, clearly having thrown himself onto his father’s lap.

“Mummy! Daddy!” he said, excitably. Artoo, thankfully, adjusted his sound so as to not wake Leia. “How’re you? Where’s Leia?”

“We’re very good, Luke,” Padmé said, smiling. “We just finished our flight and are in our room. Leia is asleep right now. She was very tired after the trip. How are you, my darling?”

Luke launched into a spiel about his day, filling them in on the games he had played with the other children and how Caleb had taught him a new trick. He also yawned through much of the conversation. Given how tired the pair of them already looked, Obi-Wan suggested they let them rest and would call back tomorrow. Once they’d hung up and let Leia finish her nap they decided to explore the building and work out where everything was.

The three of them headed downstairs; Leia, having regained her energy, was back to practically bouncing with excitement. She very carefully pressed the number one in the elevator, and then stood in the centre of the cab, shrieking as it initially dropped.

Padmé laughed, her hand shooting out to steady Leia if need be. Obi-Wan supposed if you’d never been in an elevator before, then that drop would feel very strange. When the doors dinged open on the bottom floor, Leia jumped out, eagerly looking left and right.

“Where’re we going?” she asked, turning to look at her parents.

“We’re just exploring,” Padmé said, stepping out of the elevator, Obi-Wan following behind her. “Which way do you think we should go?”

Leia stood still for a moment before saying, “This way,” and began walking down the long corridor to their left.

As they walked along, they passed a number of beings hurrying this way and that. They also managed to find the dining hall in a large open space to their right, and a whole lot of closed doors. The ones that were open, Leia peered into briefly, before coming back to her family and reporting her findings. Most were empty, but some had people in them. Eventually, they found themselves at a set of large glass doors leading to the garden they had seen from their room.

The moment they opened the door, Leia was _gone_. She ran straight at the overgrown garden and tumbled, yelling, into a soft patch of grass.

Padmé paused, watching the spectacle. Then, in a devastated voice, she whispered, “Gods, our children have never seen proper _grass_ before.”

Obi-Wan slung an arm around her shoulder, tugging her closer. Today seemed to just be trying to remind them of all the things their children had missed out on experiencing because of their lives on Tatooine.

As they watched her, Obi-Wan eventually noticed the occasional stares they were attracting, especially now that Leia was crawling around in the grass, carefully investigating each plant and yelling her findings back to her parents.

“You know I can’t decide if they think they recognise us and just aren’t sure, that they’ve never seen us before and are concerned we’re here to murder them, or if Leia is just that embarrassing,” Padmé said quietly, leaning her head against him.

Leia now had her face shoved into a bush of flowers.

“They’re probably distracted by your beauty,” Obi-Wan said smoothly.

Padmé laughed and shoved against his side amicably.

“Mummy, Daddy, look!” Leia said suddenly, drawing all eyes back to the young voice. Obi-Wan looked up and over to where Leia was pointing to see another young girl sitting beside a rather gruff looking man. He looked vaguely familiar, but Obi-Wan struggled to place _how_ he knew the man. He appeared, although he was sitting, to be rather tall and stocky. He had dark, russet skin and thick, tightly curled dark hair. He wore a serious expression as he looked over to Leia.

Saw Gerrera.

The name popped into Obi-Wan’s mind suddenly, and looking back over the man, Obi-Wan didn’t think he was wrong. Leia was already jogging across the garden to where the other little girl was sitting.

By the time they caught up to Leia, she was already deep in a conversation with the child who could only be a couple of years older than the twins.

“Saw Gerrera?” Obi-Wan asked.

The man gave Obi-Wan a long, hard look. “Who’s asking?”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

“I see. Yes.” Saw said nothing more, his jaw noticeably tightening. Obi-Wan could only imagine what his presence reminded him of.

“Is she yours?” Padmé asked amicably.

Saw’s eyes flickered to the girl, the two children completely oblivious to what the adults were talking about. “Her mother was killed by the Empire and her father taken to work for them. Jyn is mine for now.”

“How terrible for such a thing to happen to one so young,” Padmé said softly. “Do you mind if Leia spends time with her? I’m sure it would be nice for them to have someone of the same age to talk to for the week”

“Jyn?” The young girl’s head turned at Saw’s gruff voice. “Do you want to play with this girl?”

Jyn nodded seriously.

Saw turned back to them and nodded. “Do as you will.”

The conversation evidently over, Saw settled back into his seat and crossed his arms. Obi-Wan led Padmé away to leave the man to his own devices. They stood off to the corner of the garden, watching Jyn and Leia talk more before Leia snagged Jyn’s hand and dragged her into the garden to sit on the grass.

Obi-Wan let his eyes wander, taking in the beauty of the garden, even with the way it was overgrown and reclaiming the hotel. The grass was lush and healthy, with many of the bushes flowering and overflowing in their garden beds.

Many beings passed through the garden as they stood there. A fair number of them looked like rebel operatives, coming and going with the haste of nervous tumble bunnies. He also noted a loose patrol circling a wide perimeter of the hotel, always in pairs and coming by the garden every ten minutes or so.

Then, Obi-Wan spotted a familiar face coming from the impromptu space-port, heading for the doors.

“Vos!” Obi-Wan called, waving his arm in the air.

At the sound, the Kiffar turned, his hair flipping into his face before breaking into a grin and striding towards them.

“Obi-Wan,” Vos cried as he dragged Obi-Wan into a bone-crushing hug that was returned just a strongly.

“What are you doing here?” Obi-Wan asked, stepping back and holding his friend at arms length.

“ _Me?_ _You_ gave me a number to call if I wanted to help the galaxy,” Vos replied, teeth flashing. “Well, I decided I wanted to do something. How have you been?”

“Very well, aside from a run in with some Inquisitors last year,” Obi-Wan replied. “What about you?”

“Pretty good, and I empathise about the Inquisitors. Right bunch of bastards, they are,” Quinlan grumbled, before brightening. “Otherwise, working for the rebellion has been good.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “I’m glad to hear it.”

Vos finally glanced at Padmé, and then paused, his eyes roving over her for a long moment before asking, “Senator Amidala?”

“Yes, it’s lovely to meet you,” Padmé said holding out her hand. “Quinlan Vos I assume?”

“Yes.” Vos smiled and shook her hand warmly. “I was fairly certain I heard you were dead.”

Padmé just sighed deeply, and looked at Obi-Wan. He smiled back at her, before refocusing on Vos saying, “No, Palpatine faked that.” Vos just raised his eyebrows. Obi-Wan sighed. He could see how Padmé was already getting sick of explaining this. “Padmé is married to Anakin and we think it was probably a trap to get him into Sidious’ clutches.”

Vos laughed. “Never a dull moment, eh Kenobi?”

“Mum! Daddy!” Leia called, suddenly next to the three of them, holding up a large purple bug. “Look what Jyn found!”

“That’s very good, Leia, why don’t you both find it a new home?” Obi-Wan suggested.

Leia nodded and was off again, returning to Jyn and the pair began searching the garden for an appropriate leaf. Jyn looked far more serious about the task than Leia did.

When Obi-Wan turned his focus back to his friend, Vos was just looking expectantly between the two of them, a grin on his face that clearly said he knew what was happening but wanted to hear it out loud.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath in. “The three of us are together—”

“Haha! You dog!” Vos laughed, punching Obi-Wan rather hard on the shoulder. “I knew it!”

“You did not—”

“I figured Anakin was involved, the lovely senator here is an added bonus to my theory,” Quinlan finished, a very self-satisfied grin on his face. “Anyway, I’m late for reporting in, so I have to go; I’m on patrol duty for the week, but we can catch up when we’re both free?”

“You? Late? Unheard of, Vos,” Obi-Wan scoffed. It earned him a wink anyway. “Yes, catching up later sounds good.”

Quinlan gave him a final pat on the shoulder and quickly returned to his original path.

“He seems nice,” Padmé said, hooking her arm in his.

“Quinlan was a good friend, even if he is excellent at pushing all my buttons,” Obi-Wan replied.

“I can certainly see why Anakin was worried. He _is_ rather attractive.”

Obi-Wan gave her a long, sideways glance. Padmé just grinned at him, her eyes bright with mirth. “I’ll show you attractive,” Obi-Wan muttered and leant in for a teasing kiss.

It was strange, kissing in public. So much of their lives and relationship had been kept behind closed doors, that even this sliver of affection created nervous fluttering in his stomach. He pulled back.

“Ah well, I suppose I’ll have to stick with you and Ani, then,” Padmé said with a smile, shrugging casually. She took his hand in hers and dragged him over to a soft patch of grass toward the edge of the garden. The pair of them sat down, Padmé lying back in the grass and sighing. “Gods I missed the colour green and the _feeling_ of laying in something that isn’t kriffing sand.” She inhaled deeply. “It’s glorious.” Obi-Wan smiled down at her and returned to watching Leia and Jyn running around the garden.

When dinner time came around, Jyn trotted diligently back to Saw and Leia lunged at her mother, landing heavily half on top of her before rolling back into the long grass.

“I love grass,” Leia declared, her voice very muffled by being squashed into the ground. “Why don’t we have grass at home?”

Obi-Wan had to chuckle at the sight. He helped the pair of them off the ground and began explaining to Leia how different climates came about on different planets. She listened closely, occasionally asking him questions. The conversation lasted through most of dinner, Padmé more focused on examining the other guests in the sprawling room of tables. Bail stopped by briefly to wish them a good night, before he hurried off after a rebel operative.

The three of them returned upstairs to their room and prepared for bed. They’d need the energy for the coming days.

* * *

The first meeting began immediately after breakfast as the large group filed into the conference room.  The space was circular in shape with a large holo-table in the centre. Surrounding that were tiered seats going back four rows, following the same curving shape of the room. It resembled the Senate back on Coruscant in the way a loth-cat resembled a Hrosma tiger. Padmé, Leia, Artoo, and Obi-Wan found themselves settled two rows back and clustered at the edge of it. Padmé had chosen it specifically for its good view of the room and its closeness to a door if Leia needed to be taken out for a break.

Once everyone was seated, Obi-Wan took in the guests more closely. There were, to his estimate, somewhere between fifty and seventy beings in the room. Looking at them, they also represented a large portion of the galaxy and, individually, had held much political power in the past. There were a lot of life-forms Obi-Wan recognised as those who had signed the Petition of 2000 towards the end of the war.

Across the room, Obi-Wan spied the hooded face of Bana Breemu who represented the Humbarine sector. Beside her was Ivor Drake from the Kwymar sector, her blonde hair pulled tightly into a prim bun. The two women were speaking quietly to one another, occasionally glancing up at the rest of the room. Meena Tills also stood out from the crowd, the Mon Cala senator looking much the same as she had when he’d last seen her, except for the deep scar that trailed over her large head. Saw Gerrera and Jyn were tucked into a back corner three quarters of the way around the room. He recognised more and more as he looked: Dewell Bronk, Garm Bel Iblis, Chi Eekway Papanoida, Malé-Dee, Giddean Danu. It was a very impressive list of people. Obi-Wan was amazed that Bail had managed to put together such an accomplished and respected group.

A hush fell over the room as Mon Mothma stepped forward to the holo-table.

“Welcome, esteemed guests,” Mon began, her voice carrying over the group. “Bail and myself would like to thank you all for finding the time to join us for this summit. There are still many more who had wished to come, but for many reasons, could not. They will of course be informed through our channels of everything that transpires here.” She smiled. “In the interests of not wasting time, I would like to begin talks on the first proposed topic. Bail Organa will present an overview of the workings of the rebellion for the past year and an overview of our findings from intelligence analysis.”

There was a light smattering of applause as Bail approached the holo-table. Without further ado, Bail launched into a very comprehensive summary of everything the rebellion had been working on. Much of this, Obi-Wan and Padmé were very aware of, but there were some more secret operations they hadn’t heard about, that he found fascinating. As Bail moved on to more of Padmé’s findings, carefully detailing all the under-the-table dealings, the missing money, the further investigations into the weapons testing, and the movements of the Sith Inquisitors, there was a low-level murmur from a corner of the room.

Garm Bel Iblis stood up. Bail stopped where he was.

“Garm?” Bail prompted.

“This all sounds very convincing, but how do we even know any of what you’re saying is true?” the Corellian asked. “I want to see the evidence of what you’re talking about, and, if I’m being frank, I still do not understand what a ‘Sith’ is. I also find it highly suspect that you continue to accuse the Emperor of being one. It all sounds like hearsay and nonsense that we could do without. We all stand against him, regardless. It seems unnecessary.”

There was a few muttered voices in the crowd. Obi-Wan could see Padmé itching to get involved.

Bail paused. “I do not have them on hand at this time—”

“Then we are just supposed to blindly trust?” Garm shook his head. “We have all learned the mistake of _trusting_ , Organa.”

Obi-Wan was unsurprised when Padmé shot out of her seat, standing up and staring the Corellian down.

“We have a lot of proof,” Padmé began, “documents, first hand accounts, statistics, bank trails, legal policy; all of which has been carefully gathered by operatives all over the galaxy and analysed by myself and others.”

Another senator Obi-Wan recognised as Terr Taneel stood up, calling over to Padmé, “And who might you be to speak so?”

“Padmé Amidala, former Senator of Naboo.”

A hush fell over the room.

“Not quite so dead as our illustrious leader made me out to be,” Padmé continued with a sad smile. “As someone who has been closely acquainted with the Emperor for most of my life, let me make it very clear that there is _nothing—_ no atrocities, no schemes, no ploys—that I would not put past him. He is a _vile, conniving, evil man_ who will do anything to gain and maintain _power_. Also definitely a Sith.”

“Prove it,” Garm said. “I want proof you are not a copy.”

A copy? Obi-Wan thought that was an odd concern, but he had been very out of the loop for the past few years.

Padmé put her lips together, clearly trying to think of something. Obi-Wan’s brain clicked as he watched Leia poke at Artoo.

“Artoo,” Obi-Wan said loudly, drawing the attention of the room. “Artoo should have enough information on him to prove Padmé’s identity.”

“And you are?”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi, former High General of the GAR and member of the Jedi Council,” Obi-Wan said. “This droid accompanied Anakin Skywalker and myself on many war initiatives.” Obi-Wan felt himself make a face. “His memory has not been wiped since then. He should be able to easily find proof of both of our identities.”

Another quiet muttering went up in the room.

Terr nodded, sitting back down, and Garm said, “Alright. Proceed.”

Artoo wheeled himself up to the holo-table, plugging into the console. He beeped out what Obi-Wan understood as _leave it to me_ and started opening files on the screen. He started with his own papers, clearly citing him as one of Padmé-as-Queen’s droids. Artoo then ran through a series of snapshots, holding each for a few seconds. He began with clearly recognisable shots of himself and Padmé over the years when the Republic had still existed. Formal shots of them both on Coruscant, a few private ones of Padmé relaxing at home, and a few mid-battle ones for Obi-Wan. Artoo, evidently satisfied he’d shown enough to at least prove he had spent time with the publicly known figures of them, moved on. Then the astromech began showing a variety of post-Mustafar photos. Obi-Wan saw photos of a still-pregnant Padmé tidying their home and a snapshot of Obi-Wan placing a drink on the table of clearly the same house. Then, came photos of them post birth with their new, in-disguise haircuts, but still clearly in the same lounge room. They looked stupidly tired. There were a few pictures with Anakin or the twins in them, showing a quick progression of time up until fairly recently.

Obi-Wan had to admit, Artoo was doing an excellent job of showcasing evidence that would be hard to disprove. The weirdest part of this was that Obi-Wan didn’t realise that Artoo had this many photos and videos of them. The droid had clearly been recording things whenever he felt like it. The knowledge didn’t surprise him.

“Look, it’s Luke!” Leia said excitedly, pointing at the currently picture of Luke and Padmé sitting on the couch and reading a book.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said quietly, tucking her a little closer to himself.

The slideshow wound to a close with a final picture of Padmé sitting at the dining table, engrossed in what Obi-Wan would bet was rebellion work. She looked almost exactly the same as one of the much earlier photos of Padmé in her apartment on Coruscant. The slideshow took maybe two minutes at most, and very thoroughly covered the past six or so years.

“Thank you, Artoo,” Padmé said and turned back to the room at large. “Was that enough evidence for you? If not, I’m sure Artoo has other documents you could read at a later moment. Also Bail has been in contact with me for much of the time since the Republic’s fall and would be able to talk about it to you.”

Garm shook his head. “No, I think that was very comprehensive. Do you also happen to have these documents you spoke of to hand? I think many of us would like to see them.”

Padmé broke into a wide grin. “Of course.”

Bail graciously stepped aside, smiling warmly at Padmé as she took his place at the holo-table. Artoo was asked to plug back in and pull up all the files he had sent back and forth between Padmé and Bail. Padmé then worked her way through it all, pulling up the relevant documentation and walking the council through each with clarity and precision. By the end of the presentation, Garm was nodding interestedly, having returned to his seat, as were many of those who had looked concerned.

“Obi-Wan,” Padmé’s voice drew him out of his contemplation, “since there seems to be some confusion, would you mind discussing the Sith?”

Not to put him on the spot or anything.

Obi-Wan approached the holo-table, Padmé swapping positions with him, sitting down with Leia before pulling the twin onto her lap. Obi-Wan carefully explained the history of the Sith and how it connected to that of the Jedi. He explained their code, their desire for absolute power, and the Force powers associated with the Sith. It was just about everything he had learned over the last ten years.

“So how does this connect to the Emperor?” Meena asked at the end of his explanation.

“Emperor Palpatine is a Sith Lord. Throughout the war, the Jedi Order was searching for the Sith we sensed that was behind the war. We knew Count Dooku was the apprentice, but we could not identify the master. That, as it turned out at the last moment, was Palpatine. He had evidently been puppeting both sides of the war to create the outcome he wanted; the Empire.”

A dark muttering went up from the crowd at that suggestion.

“So what effect does this have on the rebellion?” Ivor Drake asked.

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together. “It makes removing him from power more difficult. He will be nearly impossible to kill or arrest. Masters Windu, Tiin, Kolar, and Fisto tried to arrest him, and Master Yoda attempted to kill him the day he took power. They all unfortunately failed.”

A heavy silence descended on the room.

“That is not to say that it is impossible. The work that is being done is slowly eroding some of his power over the galaxy, and that is most important. He _hides_ being a Sith for a reason. He will not reveal himself unless he must, and I think we can use that to our advantage.”

Obi-Wan answered a few more questions before the group was satisfied with the information. Then, Bail was finally able to continue with his presentation.

There was a brief break for lunch halfway through the day, before they reconvened for another long afternoon of talks. The rest of the afternoon passed in a flurry of discussion. Now that Padmé had been fully re-introduced, she was a force to be reckoned with. From the reactions of many of the delegates, her opinion was highly respected. Her ideas were sought after on a wide variety of topics, and her close analysis of the documentation that some had been doubtful about, seemed to assuage a lot of concern. Obi-Wan was dragged into one particular conversation to do with the military, able to supply the knowledge he had from his time in the GAR and from the many reports he had reviewed. Leia started to flag towards the end of the day, her head leaning against his arm as she quietly watched the talks continue.

Finally, Bail called an end to the council, declaring dinner ready and that talks would resume in the morning.

After dinner, Padmé decided to go exploring. Currently, she was circling around the active intelligence room with interest. They were heading back to their room after this, but Padmé had wanted to look at the operations first hand. Obi-Wan had settled himself in a corner with Leia asleep in his arms. She’d finally run out of steam after the day’s excitement. Obi-Wan had received a few brief glances as he’d come in, these operatives likely not expecting to see many kids at this temporary base, let alone in the room with them.

Padmé paused at a number of desks, asking the operatives if they had a moment, and then asking them about the specifics of what they were doing. He watched her listen closely, occasionally ask more questions, before thanking them and moving elsewhere. She was speaking animatedly with a communications tech when the room was disturbed.

“Padmé! There you are,” came a bright voice from the doorway as Bail walked into the room. “I thought I might find you here.”

Nearly every head in the room swivelled around to Bail, all chatter dying instantly as they quickly followed his gaze to Padmé. Obi-Wan had to smile when he noticed the faint blush blooming across her cheeks. All eyes were on her and most of them were wide and excited to see her, suddenly connecting a few pieces. Obi-Wan heard hushed, hurried whispers spread between a few people.

“Bail, yes. I wanted to see what the work on the ground looked like,” she smiled. “I’d been wondering how you collect all the things you send me.”

“They work very hard in here. Now, Mon and I were hoping the three of you would be up for having drinks with us?” Bail asked.

“Leia’s probably not,” Obi-Wan said from his corner. “The excitement seems to have taken its toll.”

Bail looked over, “Ah, Obi-Wan I didn’t see you lurking in the dark. Why don’t we meet in your rooms then?”

Obi-Wan saw a fair few wide eyes turn on him.

Ignoring the attention, Obi-Wan nodded at Padmé.

“That sounds lovely. Twenty minutes? I was just having a conversation I would like to finish,” Padmé replied.

Bail nodded. “Of course, we shall see you then.” Bail swept out of the room with his coat-tails swinging behind him. The man knew how to make an entrance. That, and how to start a rumour around the operatives. Obi-Wan could not fault him for that, Padmé seemed to hold a great significance for many people.

Padmé, seemingly unfazed, resumed her conversation with the tech, picking up their conversations where it had paused. When she was done, she thanked the man for answering her questions, as Obi-Wan caught the tech asking, “Are you really Padmé Amidala?” It was asked in such a quiet, awed way that Obi-Wan couldn’t help but smile. The room seemed to spontaneously lose sound again waiting on the answer.

“Yes,” Padmé admitted. “I’m not dead and the Emperor’s a liar and a scumbag. Surprise!”

Padmé clearly did not expect the sudden whoop of joy that came from just about everyone in the room, followed by excited applause. Padmé jerked slightly, freezing in place and properly turning a deep shade of pink.

Sadly, the sound caused Leia to jolt into alertness, suddenly wriggling in her father’s grip with wide eyes. “It’s okay,” Obi-Wan assured her, sending a soothing wave of calm along their bond. “The people are just happy.”

The family was caught in the room for another ten minutes as rebels came over to speak to the famed Nabooian Senator, back from the dead. Obi-Wan caught a few people looking hopefully at him, but seemed deterred by the, once again, sleeping child in his arms. Padmé finally wriggled away, citing that she’d be late for Bail if they stayed any longer.

“Never thought I would be applauded for calling the Emperor a scumbag, but here we are,” Padmé said lightly, as she strolled down the corridor beside him.

Obi-Wan smiled at her. “I really don’t think that’s what they were cheering about.”

Drinks with Bail and Mon, once Obi-Wan had put Leia to bed, was lovely. Rather than worrying about the rebellion, the four old friends swapped gossip and stories from the past few years. To top it off, the drinks Bail had brought up were vintage Alderaanian wines from Bail’s collection. They were _very_ good.

Bail caught them up on his life on Coruscant and Breha’s on Alderaan, the both of them sounding very busy. Bail lamented their inability to spend more time together, but found short spans of time where they could. Mon spoke mainly of the work she had been doing on Coruscant and back on Chandrilla. She spoke of increased military presences on both worlds that worried her, but there was little she could do. Both Rebellion leaders updated Padmé on how their friends were doing. Padmé and Obi-Wan in turn shared the main goings-on in their lives, between Anakin’s job, looking after the kids, and having their Jedi and clone guests living with them. They had enough ridiculous stories to share that Bail and Mon were near senseless with laughter nearly two hours into their gathering.

Inevitably, the gossip turned back toward the rebellion, Bail and Mon sharing everything they knew about a selection of their guests. Padmé listened closely, while Obi-Wan’s mind was torn between gathering the information and enjoying the way Padmé was slowly falling more and more against his shoulder. He _had_ rather hoped the two of them would have some time alone over the coming days, but given how things were proceeding thus far, he was beginning to think it would be unlikely.

When they finally wished Bail and Mon a good night, Obi-Wan and Padmé fell into bed, tired from the day and the lateness of the hour. Padmé curled up in his arms and the two of them quickly fell asleep.

* * *

The second day passed much as the first had. There was much talk about plans and past efforts. There was a heavy focus on the enslavement of the Mon Calamari and the unstable situation on Ryloth. Leia spent the day either playing on the floor with Jyn, who had crept over to them at the start of the day, or napping on Obi-Wan.

Padmé collapsed onto the couch the moment they returned to their room after dinner, landing face-first into a pillow and shuffling around until she was finally comfortable. Obi-Wan was on the hunt for a pen or pencil Leia that could use to draw on the paper they had found in the reception.

Finally, finding a pen buried in the bottom of his bag, he set Leia up at the dining table, letting her happily scribble away.

“I wonder how Luke’s doing on his own,” Padmé mumbled to the room.

“Luke’s good. He’s having fun with’is friends,” Leia said, matter-of-fact, not even looking up from the drawing she was working on. “Jesse made them cookies.”

Obi-Wan felt his heart sink, quickly feeling the Force around her. Damn it. Obi-Wan strode into the main bedroom where Artoo had gone to charge.

“Artoo, call home now.”

The droid whistled back and dialled Tatooine.

Anakin’s smiling face appeared a few moments later. “Hello, love—”

“Where’s Luke?”

Anakin blinked. “Uh, outside playing with the other children I think.”

Obi-Wan swore under her breath. “Could you please go ask him what he thinks his sister is up to?”

A frown passed across his face. “Sure.” Anakin vanished for a few minutes before reappearing and with a pained expression said, “Luke says she’s drawing.”

“Damn,” Obi-Wan said again.

“They’re not shielding are they?” Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “No. They’re clearly not, at least not between each other. I couldn’t tell.”

“Me neither.” Anakin sighed. “I don’t understand _how_ they’re doing it. We are stupidly far away from each other.”

“Perhaps it has something to do with being twins?” Obi-Wan suggested. “Masters Tiplee and Tiplar always had a very strong connection to one another.”

“True,” Anakin said. “Well, I suppose we’d better get them to stop. Call back tomorrow? I have the evening free to talk then.”

“We will. Love you,” Obi-Wan murmured.

Anakin smiled. “I love you too. Good night.”

“Good night, Anakin.”

Artoo broke the connection and Obi-Wan made a bee-line for his daughter.

“Leia, put up your shields between you and Luke now,” Obi-Wan said firmly.

“But Daddy—!”

“—No buts, Leia. You can’t keep the bond open this far from home. It’s not safe. We talked about this.”

“Fine,” Leia said while she made a face at him. A face Obi-Wan remembered seeing on many days of Anakin’s apprenticeship. A face that said, ‘I don’t like this, but I’m going to do as you say.’

“Thank you, Leia,” Obi-Wan said softly. “I know you miss Luke, but you’ll see him when we get home.”

“I _know_ ,” Leia replied, but scooted forward in her seat.

“Good girl.” Obi-Wan stroked the hair on her head before leaning in to kiss her forehead.

Leia squirmed, muttering something under her breath, before she went back to focusing on her drawing. Obi-Wan put it out of his mind, turning to see why Padmé hadn’t involved herself…ah yes, she was asleep.

* * *

The third day continued in the exact same manner as the others. The delegates spent the whole day in talks, now drawing closer to looking at more specialised and detailed topics rather than broad ones. Obi-Wan excused himself, Leia, and Jyn from the morning session, deciding the two girls could do with not being trapped in the room again.

Saw had waved them away, telling Jyn to have fun, continuing to sit silently at the back of the group. Obi-Wan suspected he had come to gather intelligence but didn’t actually give half a damn about the overall picture the rebellion was working from. Saw seemed very much like the kind of man who did what he wanted, how he wanted, the rest of the galaxy be damned. Obi-Wan resolved to discuss the concern with Bail at some point in the future.

The three of them spent the morning in the garden again, the girls initially happy to hunt for insects and frogs, until they got bored and decided that playing chase with Obi-Wan was much more entertaining. In the end, they lay in a star on the grass, looking up at the trees, talking about nothing. Leia ended up falling asleep again.

Lunch then came and went, and the three of them returned to the meeting. Leia and Jyn sequestered themselves in an empty back corner, talking softly, while Obi-Wan’s opinion was once again sought after on a stupidly wide range of topics. Sadly, he was well versed on all of them which only made his thoughts more sought after. Then, halfway through a discussion headed by Giddean Danu about the Kuat sector, Bail declared it time for dinner.

After, Padmé, Obi-Wan, and Leia called Anakin as promised. Anakin’s smiling face greeted them through the blue hologram, Leia yelling, “Hi Dad!” with great enthusiasm. At the sound, Luke suddenly appeared in the picture, waving happily.

Leia, full of energy and new experiences launched into a detailed retelling of everything she had done in the last few days with a very large focus on the garden and Jyn. Luke and Anakin listening attentively. When she ran out of steam, Luke began babbling to Obi-Wan and Padmé about how he gets to sleep in the bed with Dad now, and all the fun things he’d done with Uncle Jesse when Dad was at work. He also talked about how Plo had taken him and the other kids up to the training cave to teach them a new kata.

“How have you been?” Padmé asked once the twins had each run out of stories to tell and wandered off.

“Fine,” Anakin said with a smile. “Luke’s really enjoying being allowed to stay with me. He’s had a few bad dreams, and having me in the room seems to help. I think he’s just so used to having Leia around all the time.”

“Leia hasn’t tried to communicate with him again?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin shook his head. “Not as far as I can tell, and Luke says they haven’t so...” he shrugged.

Obi-Wan had done the same thing, and Leia had promised that she hadn’t contacted him since. “That’s good. How’s work?”

“Ugh, so busy!” Anakin exclaimed and began a tirade about the poor vaporator maintenance he’d seen in the past few days. When that was done, he sighed. “How are the talks going?”

“Very productive,” Padmé said brightly, “though I think there’s still a lot more to be discussed. The plans being set in place are looking very promising.”

Obi-Wan caught himself smiling at the fire in Padmé’s eyes; she really was stunning like this. He'd been unable to look away from her over the past few days, enjoying watching her work so closely. It was like staring into the sun and it had been quite the test of his restraint to keep it professional. He was so used to being able to touch her whenever he wished to back home.

Obi-Wan blinked back to focus when Anakin called his name. Evidently, Padmé had finished talking.

Anakin was giving him a knowing look when he looked at the hologram. “Well, I’d best let you two go,” Anakin said lightly. “You both look pretty tired. Call again soon?”

“We will,” Padmé assured him.

There was a round of ‘I love you’s and ‘stay safe’s before Artoo disconnected them and headed for the main bedroom, searching for the charging pad.

“I’ll get Leia into bed,” Obi-Wan said, leaving Padmé sitting on the couch. Obi-Wan rounded his daughter up and they worked through her evening routine. As he finished reading the last chapter of her book, her eyes slid shut and she dropped of to sleep.

As Obi-Wan snuck out of Leia’s room, pulling the door closed behind him, he found Padmé standing in front of the window, staring out to the rainforest beyond their room, the dying light of the day lit everything in a way that tinged it faintly gold, throwing it into ethereal calm. Padmé was staring past the glass, deep in thought. Her weight was settled on her left leg and her arms were crossed over her chest with her right hand set lightly against her mouth. Bathed in reflective gold and green light, she looked like the angel Anakin always said she was.

Obi-Wan smiled.

He quietly walked up behind her. Obi-Wan touched his hand to her hip in warning before he slid closer, draping himself over her back and resting his head beside hers, his chin brushing against her cheekbone. Padmé remained quiet, but she leaned back into him, their torsos connecting with her head nudging at his. Obi-Wan wrapped his arms tenderly around her waist, letting their bodies sway for a moment. Padmé’s hand fell from her mouth and held one of his on her hip.

They stood together in silence, Padmé still far away in her mind. Obi-Wan didn’t want to disturb her, but he’d been unable to resist the urge to touch. He could see her eyes reflected in the glass, focused and thoughtful. He could see how they looked together, Obi-Wan wrapped around her and their hands tangled together, the fading light still colouring them golden. He felt warm.

“Hey,” Padmé said quietly some time later, seeming to blink back to herself. “This is nice.”

“Hello,” Obi-Wan said and briefly tightened his grip on her waist, pressing the tiniest amount closer. He turned his head and pressed his lips to side of Padmé’s forehead, just above her eye. He watched in their reflections as Padmé closed her eyes and a smile hinted at the edge of her lips. “What were you thinking about?”

Padmé leaned back into him further, her head falling back to rest on his shoulder. “Mainly about tomorrow. There’s a few things I think need addressing.” She let out a long breath. “It feels so good to be back. To be doing work like this again.”

“It is your calling,” Obi-Wan said. “What about tomorrow?”

“I think the rebellion needs to think past its current iteration of dealing with the now,” Padmé said slowly. “We also need a plan on what happens when the Empire gets taken down or loses its figurehead. If Palpatine died in his sleep tonight, I don’t think the we would be able to get things back on course.”

“He deserves worse,” Obi-Wan heard himself murmur darkly.

“Agreed,” Padmé added, “but my point still stands; if _something_ were to happen, there needs to be a clearly executable plan on how to re-form the Republic, or given how much of a mess that was, how to form a new, non-dictatorship without the galaxy falling to pieces while it happens.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “That makes sense.”

Padmé hummed thoughtfully, the duo falling into quiet. The light was starting to dim somewhat, losing it’s golden quality and moving slowly towards deep blue and purple hues.

“What are your plans once we overthrow Sidious?” Padmé asked thoughtfully.

Obi-Wan breathed for a minute, thinking, inhaling Padmé’s warm smell, and relishing the way they were pressed together. Obi-Wan swayed his body to the side, Padmé letting it happen and rocking along with him. “I’m not sure. I think I’d just be happy to follow you and Anakin and see where that takes me,” he said, and then paused. “I don’t know what we’d do about the Jedi. It can’t go back to the way it was, but I also don’t think we can leave it alone.” He sighed. “Would you want to go back to the Senate?”

“Yes,” Padmé replied with conviction. “I’m not sure _how_ given that legally, I’m rather dead, but I’m sure it’s doable. Of course, Naboo would have to approve it, but even if they didn’t, I’d find a way. Someone’s always in need of a secretary or an assistant.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Obi-Wan said, smiling.

“Well, if the whole Jedi thing doesn’t work out, I think you’d do wonderfully in the Senate.”

“I honestly think I would rather elope with Hondo than do _that_ ,” he retorted. Just because he was good at negotiation did _not_ mean he wanted to spend the rest of his life surrounded by _politicians_.

Padmé turned in his grip, her stomach against his while her arms snaked around his torso and gripped his form tightly. She grinned up at Obi-Wan, all teeth and faintly crooked at the edges. “I’d like to see you _try_ ,” Padmé said.

Obi-Wan watched as Padmé lifted her hands to rest on the sides of his face, her thumbs stroking slowly against his cheek. Obi-Wan felt his hands hold onto her a little tighter, a warm heat growing in his chest. Padmé smirked at him and leaned in, tugging his head down a little to her height. She kissed him slowly, close lipped and tempting.

“Is Leia asleep?” Padmé asked quietly, glancing at the closed bedroom door.

Obi-Wan tentatively felt in her direction and was met with the warm heaviness of slumber. “Yes. Very asleep.”

“Excellent,” Padmé muttered. “All mine then.”

Sensing her intent, Obi-Wan swept down to press his lips to hers again. He felt her smile against his lips as he gathered her into his arms, leaving no space between them. His skin was electric against hers, the way she gripped his face and hair tingling oh so pleasantly. He’d wanted to touch her all day, the way she held herself before the others was incredible. She was just so confident and overflowing with conviction to do the right thing. Now he had Padmé all to himself.

Obi-Wan’s hands wandered, feeling every inch of Padmé’s back with a brief detour to the back of her hair, before slowly searching for the crease between where her shirt ended and her skirt began. Finding his goal, Obi-Wan wormed his hand under her shirt, smiling into the kiss as he found warm skin. Padmé let out a little sigh, pushing into his hand, before she pulled back. He was greeted by wet lips, dark brown eyes, and a faint pink resting on cheeks.

He smiled, leaning in to rest his forehead against hers. “I love you, Padmé.”

“Gods, I love you too,” she whispered back.

He felt himself being tugged forward as Padmé stepped backwards, smiling all the while. She released him after a few steps, moving ahead and sitting herself on the wooden desk by the window, leaning back on both hands. Her hair was slightly askew from his hands, and her skirt very rumpled as she sat watching him with dark eyes. She smiled as she spread her legs just a little more, tilting her head in invitation. “Coming, Obi-Wan?” she asked lightly. “Or am I going to have to do this by myself?” Padmé’s hand slowly slid over her thigh, dipping low before grasping at the soft skin of her inner thigh, dragging red lines along her body. He drank in the way her breathing faltered. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to leave her to it.

“I think you’re going to need to convince me,” Obi-Wan said calmly, briefly crossing the room to change the windows to opaque. This was not for anyone who happened to pass by; this was for them. He then moved to sit on the edge of the couch, just observing.

Padmé shrugged, the ghost of a smile at her mouth. “Suit yourself then.”

She stared him down as her hand worked its way up her own thigh, grasping and trailing fingernails along the skin. Padmé bit her lip, clearly focused, as her hand slid into her underwear, a small, shameless breath escaping her lips.

He couldn’t exactly see what she was doing, her hand obscured by her underwear and the folds of her skirt, but he could see how it affected her: a sharp breath, a cut off moan, and the way her hips shifted into her hand. She took is slow, nearly agonisingly so, taking her time to enjoy her own fingers.

It was so very good. Obi-Wan felt himself lick his lips, a blanket of heat having settled all over his body. He could feel how hard he was and he would bet good credits Padmé could see it too. He palmed himself, trying to find a new comfortable position for his suddenly very tight pants. He _knew_ his hand lingered far too long for it to be just that.

Padmé caught the action and smiled at him, letting her eyes fall closed. She moaned, just on the edge of too quiet, as her hips canted keenly into her hand.

“Obi-Wan—” Padmé cried softly, her voice completely breathless and tinged with heat.

Alright.

She’d convinced him.

Obi-Wan was up and across the space in three quick strides. His hands gripped her hips, pulling her towards him as his mouth found hers. He kissed with every inch of desire he had, and right now, it was _a lot_. He heard a bright laugh escape Padmé before it melted into a moan against his mouth as she kissed him back with equal fervour. Her hands abandoned their previous positions and latched around his waist, Obi-Wan able to feel their warmth through his shirt. Most of all, he could feel her arch against him, one of her legs winding around his, trying to pull him closer. He heard her hum contentedly as she rubbed against his cock.

“I want to be in you,” Obi-Wan murmured, pulling back for just a moment.

“Gods yes,” Padmé said quietly. “Now you’re getting it.” She leant back in, sucking at his bottom lip with sharp intent.

“You need to let me go so I can make that happen,” Obi-Wan said with a smile.

“ _Fine,_ ” Padmé sighed, releasing her arms from his shoulders, one of her legs remaining wrapped around his knee.

Once freed from her embrace, Obi-Wan set about shimmying Padmé’s underwear from her hips, his partner moving as needed to help him along. She smiled at him the whole time.

“Come’ere,” Padmé whispered, her hands returning to his shoulders, tugging him back in. He went willingly, licking into her mouth and inhaling the sounds she made. His hands wandered again; they traveled down her waist, relishing the shape of her hips before sliding back beneath her skirt and grasping the soft curve of her arse. Padmé hummed in appreciation, nipping at his lip and curving towards him. She twisted her hands in his hair, trapping him in her grasp as she began kissing down his chin, sucking reverently at his skin as she moved down his neck. He had to groan at the contrast. He felt alight at every contact point between them. He needed more.

Obi-Wan moved his hands again, now set on a mission. They slid slowly, so very slowly, back up Padmé’s thighs, his right hand diving between them to find her tight warmth. Padmé’s mouth paused in its exploration of his neck as he stroked her damp lips. He turned the tables on her, his mouth latching onto the line of her jaw as he explored her warmth with his fingers, searching for the movements that made her quiver. She did not disappoint; Padmé purred her appreciation at his attentions, every sound she made fuelling the fire in his blood.

“Fuck, Obi-Wan,” Padmé sighed above his ear, her hips rocking into his hand.

“I’m getting there,” he returned softly.

Padmé laughed and shoved him back. “Get on with it then.”

Obi-Wan quickly set about unfastening his trousers, never breaking eye contact with the dark eyes that were watching him from the desk. Padmé hiked up her skirt just a little more, shimmying closer to the edge of the desk, her tongue darting out for just a moment.

He was pulled back into her orbit, his hands reaching for hers as they came together once more. Obi-Wan kissed her hard before pulling away, focused on giving them both what they wanted. He entered her slowly, pushing into her heat with reverence and Padmé’s head fell onto his shoulder, her hands gripping his hips, trying to tug him in a little faster.

Obi-Wan worked at a measured pace, thrusting his way into her at a torturous speed, wanting to lose himself in her presence. All he could smell was Padmé. He was consumed by her scent and how surrounded he felt by her. Her legs were now both hitched around his waist, while her arms were looped around his neck. He moved slowly, delivering deliberate strokes, angled perfectly to wring stunning sounds from Padmé’s lips. The kinds of sounds a man could live off of.

“Mmmmm,” Padmé hummed breathlessly, “just like that.” Obi-Wan felt her fingers scrape along the top of his back, catching every so often in his shirt, each finger a searing point of contact.

Soon, there was nothing but harsh panting between them. Obi-Wan had his face buried in the crook of her neck, kissing or nipping at her skin when he had half a brain cell at his disposal. He was nothing but a container for heat and adoration, burning him up from the inside. Padmé was making faint keening sounds, her body curling as close as it could to his, desperately searching for something.

“Obi-Wan, love, please,” she moaned breathlessly.

He didn’t need to be told twice. Obi-Wan redoubled his efforts, sharply thrusting into his lover and enjoying the first quiet squeak he wrung from her. He mouthed at her neck, careful to not leave anything permanent.

Padmé went quiet for a long moment, her breathing faltering beneath his mouth, her fingers gripping his shoulders on the edge of painful. Then she was shaking in his arms, exhaling erratically, and clenching perfectly around him. He was lost.

He could hear his own cut-off moan as he drowned in searing pleasure; could feel the way he gripped Padmé close to him. He shoved his face into the juncture of Padmé’s neck and jaw, breathing through the waves of his climax. When he regained sense, Padmé was kissing his cheek in a slow expression of adoration. He turned his mouth to catch hers for a breath, the two of them just taking a moment for themselves, rejoicing in the connection. 

Eventually, Padmé took in a deep breath, pushing her hair back off her face. A few strands had stuck to her cheek, shoved into place by Obi-Wan’s efforts and the faint dampness of their skin. Padmé smiled, her hands lightly shoving him away before sliding off the desk, her legs a little wobbly, and wrapping her hand around Obi-Wan’s. “Come on, I’m fairly certain the shower can fit the two of us.”

* * *

After such a lovely evening and a restful night, Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Leia were ready and awake for another day of talks. Breakfast passed easily and they all soon found themselves back around the conference table.

Leia was sitting in a corner with Jyn, the pair quietly talking and playing with the toys Leia had brought with her. Jyn looked far more excited than she should about a couple of battered and well-loved toys.

Yesterday’s discussion about the best distribution of assets in the Kuat sector continued on through the morning, transforming into a similar discussion for the Chommel sector. There was then a short break for lunch before they reconvened. A final, slow conversation about finances drew the planned topics to a close, the room slowly falling into relative quiet.

“We have now covered all the topics that had been proposed before this meeting,” Mon said into the quiet room. “Are there any other _major_ issues that need to be brought forward now?”

Padmé raised her hand confidently.

“Yes, Padmé.”

She touched Obi-Wan’s knee as she stood up, smoothing down her skirt and approaching the centre table.

“The issue that has made itself most obvious to me over the last few days is that while we have excellent, well planned initiatives in our efforts against the Empire, we do not have a plan for what happens after.” She paused for a moment to let that thought sink in. “We are definitely ready for the _now_ threat of the Empire, but not after it. So my real question is this; if the Emperor accidentally fell down a reactor shaft tomorrow, do we have a plan ready on how to stabilise the galaxy?” Padmé asked. “Is there a clear, planned series of steps that we can take to ensure the Empire does not continue under a new leader or that the galaxy as a whole does not fall into chaos?”

A murmur went up in the room. Mon was nodding at her thoughtfully. Obi-Wan could feel himself smile. She really was back in her element. There was almost a glow settled on her skin with the joy radiating off of her.

“No, we do not,” Bail said over the voices. “What are you suggesting?”

The crowd died down again.

“I am suggesting, while everyone is here, for us to sit down and come up with that plan. If, for whatever reason, Palpatine no longer has power, we must have a plan for how we can stabilise the galaxy and reform the Senate and the Republic into something that is not a dictatorship. If we cannot do that, there is very little point to the rebellion as a whole.” She paused. “Of course, this reformation doesn’t have to be back to the way it was. I’m sure many of you would agree that the old Republic and Senate were flawed in many ways. I think we need to take this opportunity to work out _how_ we would go about this and what roles everyone would have to play to ensure the transition happens smoothly.”

Another bout of chatter started up again. There was a brief back and forth as some complained that doing this was bound to take at least a couple of days. However, with Padmé’s conviction and the backing of a number of respected figures, the council decided that this was the best course of action to take.

Given that it was looking to be a long and boring afternoon ahead of complicated and detailed decision making, Obi-Wan, Leia, and Jyn left to entertain themselves elsewhere.

Obi-Wan took the children outside again. The pair sat themselves in the grass, returning to whatever game they had been playing inside. Obi-Wan sat himself down on a bench nearby, the blue paint peeling off of the rotting wood. He enjoyed the sun that reached through the canopy, closing his eyes and turning his face toward it like a flower. He’d missed living in a milder climate.

“Hey!” A voice called, and Obi-Wan looked up to see Ahsoka striding towards them.

Leia waved vigorously for a moment before she returned to her new friend. Ahsoka waved back to her and came to sit down beside Obi-Wan. He heard the dilapidated bench creak beneath their combined weights.

“Hello, Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan replied, grinning. “I was wondering when we’d see you again.”

She shrugged, her lekku shifting at the motion. “Overseeing something like this is pretty time consuming while also keeping tabs on all the missions I’m running. I finally had a minute and thought I’d come say hi. Where’s Padmé?”

“She’s convinced everyone to stay for a few more days to come up with an action plan on what to do when we are once again free of the Empire,” Obi-Wan said. “How many missions are you managing at the moment?”

“That seems like a good idea, and just the two,” she replied. “I have two operatives trying to make contact with a resistance that seems to be popping up on Lothal, and another team of three trying to intercept and document top secret information, thought I can’t tell you where.”

“Of course not, although I’m sure the results will cross my path eventually.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Ahsoka smiled. “How’s your ankle, by the way? Last time I visited it was still giving you trouble.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “It’s much better now, though it can be a bit stiff or achy at night, but I suspect that’s also just me getting old.”

Ahsoka hummed thoughtfully, before looking at him and grinning. “That would explain that thick grey streak.”

Obi-Wan sighed. He was so very aware of that. “ _Thank you_ , Ahsoka.”

She just kept grinning at him.

“So when are you going to take a real break?” he asked, watching her closely. She’d only been home in fits and bursts over the last couple of years and he worried for her. He, more than most, knew how easy it was to lose yourself to a cause. He wouldn’t let that happen to Ahsoka if he could help it.

Ahsoka looked away, her eyes falling on the girls. “I don’t know.”

“You do need one,” Obi-Wan said softly. “You’ve been working so hard for so long, and you need to give yourself a break. We’re not going to take Sidious down in the next month; you’ve got to be ready for the long haul.”

“Yeah, I know that intellectually,” she began, turning back to look at him. “I just…I feel like I need to be doing _something_.”

“I understand. Why don’t you finish up the two missions you’re working on and come home for a couple of months?” he suggested. “Anakin would love to have you back, as would Padmé and I. The kids definitely miss you. Plus, if you’re nice and rested, you can do even more afterward.”

“I see what you’re trying to do.” She narrowed her eyes at him, and then smiled. “Fine. I’ll ask for some time off once the missions are completed.”

“Good.” Obi-Wan reached out, putting a familiar hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be good to have you back.”

Ahsoka shook off the hand and moved over until she was completely leaning on Obi-Wan, her head and lekku leant against his shoulder. It reminded him of the few times she’d been exhausted as a Padawan and had fallen asleep beside him when returning to the ship. At the quiet, Obi-Wan began talking about all the boring, everyday things they had been up to around the farm. Ahsoka was asleep within five minutes. Obi-Wan was beginning to wonder if his real mission on Varonat was to help all the women in his life take a lot of naps.

Jyn and Leia continued playing until Padmé came out to tell them dinner was going to be served soon. Reluctantly, Obi-Wan shook Ahsoka awake and the four headed inside. Dinner passed quickly and before he knew it, they were back up in their rooms. Padmé looked exhausted and so Obi-Wan quickly shuffled her off to lie on the couch. Padmé ending up convincing him to lie down with him.

“A few individuals asked me to take up the role of Chancellor when Palpatine is removed from power,” Padmé said softly, her fingers trailing over his hand as it lay over her stomach.

“That’s quite the honor,” Obi-Wan replied.

“Yes, well. I turned them down and put in my recommendation for Bail instead.”

“Why?”

“For one, the replacement needs to be a someone who is steady and unwavering if this is going to work. Having me suddenly come back from the dead, children and partners in tow, is not a very stable choice,” Padmé said. “Bail is highly respected in and out of the Senate, and known to be a good, level-headed leader. He would be the much more sensible choice. Plus, this whole rebellion is mainly his and Mon’s work, and I can promise you that she does not want the honour. Bail makes the most sense.”

Obi-Wan nodded in understanding.

“Also, being Chancellor would mean having barely any time with you and Ani and the kids,” she continued. “I don’t want that.”  

Obi-Wan kissed her.

The next four days passed in a blur of activity. Leia and Jyn continued to form a close friendship, spending most of the talks sitting together. They did watch the proceedings on occasion, but most of the time they kept themselves entertained. Padmé spent the whole time actively participating and planning for their ‘Post-Empire Initiative’. Obi-Wan occasionally offered suggestions, mainly on things to do with how they would negotiate certain proposed bills or how to handle known political issues or stumbling blocks. He may as well not let all of his mediation training go to waste. Most of the nitty-gritty details, he left to the politicians.

It was, however, fascinating to watch. Mon, Bail, Padmé, and Meena were the clear leaders of the collection, but everyone was given ample opportunity to speak and make suggestions, Saw continuing to keep to himself. If the future Senate looked anything like this, Obi-Wan felt the galaxy would be in very capable hands. By the end of the fourth day, all of them were looking very satisfied with the plan they had put together. It would probably need revising in the future as things changed and to double check there were no major flaws, but overall, it seemed to be a solid start.

He saw Ahsoka once more in passing, Rex alongside her, and managed to have dinner and drinks with Quinlan on the third night of the post-Empire talks. Now that he was allowed to let his friend in on most things, he found it pouring out of him. He told him about Padmé and Anakin and their relationship. He told him about his two children. He told him how Plo and Luminara and the four clones lived with them, along with the four ex-Padawans. He told him about the work he had done for Bail and the run-in he had with the Inquisitors. Vos drank in each drop of information with a bright smile on his face and a deep warmth in his eyes. He sympathised with the Inquisitor story, explaining that he’d had a brief run-in with one, and had ended up with a broken forearm.

Quinlan then shared his story of the time since they had last seen one another. Vos had continued his erratic flight between planets for another six months before he had had enough and called the number Obi-Wan had passed along at their last meeting. The voice on the other end had given him instructions (he hadn’t found out that the voice belonged to Ahsoka for another year) which he had dutifully followed to a rebel outpost. There, his background was very thoroughly checked, but given that he was very obviously a Jedi, they’d shoved him through the process fairly quickly. He was then put with a variety of teams and send on a vast range of missions, from intelligence to sabotage to outright warfare. Since starting these missions, Vos admitted that he’d been much happier. He enjoyed having friends and somewhere to come back to after a mission. Most importantly, he felt a bone-deep satisfaction at fucking with the Empire and Sidious’ plans. They both drank to that.

Obi-Wan and Padmé managed to speak to Anakin twice over those four days, everything seeming to be fine back home. In fact, Anakin seemed rather pleased and excited about something, but when questioned, he waved it off with a smiled and promised to share when they returned. Otherwise, Anakin was most interested in the plans they were putting together, and listened attentively to Padmé’s retelling of the processes.

Finally, the conference drew to a close. The final night was more celebration than anything else. An array of beverages were served alongside an impressive spread of hors d'oeuvres. If Obi-Wan hadn’t know they were in an abandoned city on the edge of the galaxy, he would have thought himself to be back on Coruscant, attending another boring party for the Council.

Leia and Jyn were having an amazing time, stealing through the crowd to nab food off of the tables. Saw was back up in his room. Padmé and Obi-Wan had offered to keep Jyn entertained for the night, and he had quietly accepted.

As the night went on and representatives fell deeper and deeper into their cups, a not-insignificant number of them came over to Padmé to tell them how much they had respected her and how awful it had been to hear of her death and attend her funeral. They spoke of how much they missed her in the Senate and how they wished she could come back sooner. Padmé seemed to experience the whole thing with wide eyes and a heartfelt nod for each individual.

“This must be what it feels like to watch your own funeral,” Padmé had whispered to him after the fourth person. “It’s really fucking weird.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “As someone who _did_ watch your funeral, I would have to agree.”

Padmé had laughed and kissed him, tasting like champagne and sugar.

Bail had waylaid them both late in the evening, launching into a spiel about how pleased he was with the summit and thanking them both profusely for coming and Obi-Wan congratulated him on pulling the week off. They’d then had a brief conversation with Mon, and a longer one with Meena Tills.

“Ah, it’s getting rather late don’t you think, my love?” Padmé muttered into his ear after Meena excused herself to get another drink. “I think we should get the girls into bed.”

Obi-Wan nodded and they rounded up Jyn and Leia. They walked Jyn back to her room, the young girl pulling Leia into a brief hug before running inside. Saw gruffly thanked them and made to shut the door when Padmé spoke.

“Saw, I just wanted to make the offer that if, for whatever reason, you ever need to get Jyn somewhere safe, I would like to offer our home,” Padmé said. “I’m sure it can be hard raising a child in an environment like this, so if it ever becomes an issue, please feel free to contact Bail and he will put you in touch with us.”

Saw Gerrera looked at Padmé for a long, silent moment, his eyes searching for something. Padmé held his gaze unflinchingly. Seeming to find it, he nodded once, and shut the door.

“Well, I tried,” Padmé said, leaning against Obi-Wan as they walked back to the elevator. Their daughter was dragging behind them, one hand attached to the back of Obi-Wan’s shirt.

“Saw is a difficult man to read,” Obi-Wan said softly, his arm coming around to rest on her waist. “I’m fairly certain he agreed to your suggestion.”

“Only time will tell,” Padmé replied.

They returned to their rooms, Padmé heading off to their bedroom to contact Anakin and let him know that they were leaving tomorrow. Obi-Wan set about getting Leia get ready for bed; he put her through a quick bath and helped her into pyjamas before tucking her into bed.

“Have you had fun?” Obi-Wan asked Leia, pulling the blanket up to her chest.

“Yeah,” Leia yawned. “We goin’home tomorrow, Daddy?”

Obi-Wan ran a hand over her head, smoothing her hair from her face. “Yes, my dear. Have a big sleep tonight and then we’ll be on the ship after breakfast.”

Leia nodded and closed her eyes, Obi-Wan creeping from the room in search of his own bed.

The next day, they wished Bail and Mon a sincere goodbye, Obi-Wan and Padmé drawing both in for tight embraces and wishes of good health and safety. When Ahsoka, Rex, and Yarro reappeared, they all boarded the ship and prepared for take-off.

They all watched Varonat disappear into star-streaks as the hyperdrive activated, taking them home to Tatooine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, time fuckery. Looking at canon, Jyn shouldn’t have been with Saw yet. Canon dates are that Ersos go into hiding in 17 BBY and the Krennik comes for them in 13 BBY. So, this fic is currently in the middle of 15BY just for ref which means that basically, I moved the empire coming for Galen and Lyra up by 2 years because, personally, if I was Paplypoo and my #1 right hand murder boy fucked off at the culmination of my evil plan, I’d be much more focused on creating a rebellion-suppressing death star than previously, so, in my head, Palps is more invested in that initiative in my timeline than in the canon one.
> 
> Did I have too much fun writing this chapter? The answer is yes. Also, the final arc begins next chapter. I hope you’re all ready for it ;)


	28. Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the long gap again, to cut a long explanation short, Life Happened (IE: A Stop-Motion Animation Project, My Birthday, Christmas, Summer Camp, Being Sick…and also this chapter was also a right pain in my butt to write). So thank you for waiting :) Also, due to writers block, I ended up drawing a part of the story, so please enjoy the art—there’s a link at the appropriate place.
> 
> Once again, massive thanks to my beta Matlida_Nicki who continues to be amazing at organising my word mess! I love your work! As always, I am happy for constructive criticism regardless.
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments and I hope you enjoy the chapter… ;)

Anakin had a very productive and revelation filled two weeks with his family off on Varonat. He had to admit, after living so closely with them both for so long, it was a difficult adjustment. He was so used to being able to speak to either of them whenever he needed to, or to reach out and touch them and to have them touch back. He realised how grounded he felt with them around now that he was a little adrift.

However, it wasn’t _bad_. It wasn’t the way he had felt during the war when the three of them had been split apart, which was anxious and alone and in a constant state of worry for the two of them, the feeling clawing out his innards on a regular basis. Now, it was more of a dull ache of missing them both, but secure in the knowledge that they would both come back to him.

It was…almost okay.

Luke seemed to struggle with it more than he did.

The majority of the time, Luke was his usual, chipper self, entertaining himself with the clones or the other kids, running around the homestead with the enthusiasm of an akk dog. It was night-time that was the main issue.

The very first night after Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Leia had gone, Anakin had been unable to sleep. He’d lain in the darkness of their bedroom, splayed across their bed and stared at the roof for _hours_. He’d rolled back and forth, futilely trying to find a comfortable position. The room was too dark, too cold, too silent. Just…all wrong for sleeping.

He heard a slow creak of the door and felt the brush of Luke against his shields.

“Luke?” Anakin asked, sitting up and flicking the light on with the Force.

Luke stood in the cracked open doorway blinking sleepily up at Anakin.

“Cann’I sleep with you?” Luke asked, his hands gripping the door tightly. Anakin could feel his disquiet in the Force.

“Of course, Luke. Come here.” Anakin flipped the blanket open and Luke came running, tossing himself up onto the bed, landing face-first on the mattress. There was a brief moment of shuffling as Luke made himself comfortable. When he finally settled, curled up against his father’s chest, Anakin asked the question hanging from his lips. “What’s wrong?”

Luke shrugged, mumbling against Anakin’s chest, “I had a bad dream’n I miss Leia.”

Anakin smiled. He snuggled down next to Luke and flicked the light off again. “I miss them too. They’ll be back soon. It’s only a couple of weeks.”

Luke nodded. “What about the bad dream?”

“I’ll keep you safe,” Anakin whispered, running his hand over Luke’s hair, leaning in to kiss his forehead.

“Thank you, Dad.”

Luke reshuffled himself again until he was plastered against Anakin. They both closed their eyes and easily found sleep.

The same scene repeated the next night after, Luke initially protested that he could sleep on his own tonight. Then, around the same time as the night before, Anakin was still lying awake and Luke came shuffling in muttering about Leia and nightmares again. They shared the bed every night after that.

Beyond that, the only other stressors in Anakin’s life was his repair work and his and Kitster’s project. Well, that and the fact his children could apparently communicate between _planets_ …but that was a problem for when they all got home.

The repair work went must as it usually did. Things broke, either from bad luck, sabotage, or just plain old neglect. The last one always annoyed him the most. He’d come across a moisture farmer in the first few days of everyone being gone who, Anakin would just about bet his life, had _never_ tried to look after his machines. They were rusted, dented, and absolutely crusted in sand and salt. Anakin had been insulted on the vaporators behalf that someone could treat them this way. He’d also been surprised they hadn’t all failed _years_ ago. Once he’d repaired what he could, he’d given the farmer a rather intense lecture of what he could do to mitigate most of the damage on his own.

His and Kitster's work continued to be a great success. In the two years they’d been doing this, they’d now freed nearly two hundred people at Anakin’s last count. Ishti had continued to pull her weight and had ended up convincing two other ex-slaves to help them, and thus Solomar and Clem were brought on board. So far, the five of them had done an excellent job to keep out from under the Hutt’s and slaver’s radars. The five of them rotated the areas they worked in and the methods used for freeing people to keep from becoming obvious or predictable. Overall, Anakin was still vastly pleased with himself and the other former slaves. It felt good.

Home-life continued on much as it had been. Kix went to work more often than not, Wolffe continued to work his way through Padmé’s book collection and just generally continued to be a quiet presence in the house. He could often be found watching the kids or picking up vaporator maintenance here and there. Jesse was thrilled to be back home and alternated between cooking and entertaining Luke and the other children. The Padawans continued on the path they’d been walking for the past year, slowly gaining in happiness and skills under the careful eye of Anakin, Plo, and Luminara.

Then Anakin finally worked _it_ out; finally saw what that kriffing, world ending prophecy must have meant.

Anakin had been up in the training cave with all the kids, Luminara, and Plo nearly a week after most of his family had gone. Jesse and Wolffe happily having come kind of card tournament at home.

Plo and Luminara had rounded up the younger Padawans to teach them a new kata, while Anakin had taken Caleb off for some one-on-one work. The young man was developing his skills quickly and efficiently. He was no longer the traumatised, lonely boy who had arrived at their home over a year ago; now Caleb smiled often and brightly, his positive attitude and enthusiasm rubbing off on the younger children and, dare Anakin suggest it, the elder Jedi Masters as well.

He watched Caleb from his perch on a rock. The young one was deeply focused on a complicated kata they’d been working on for the past few weeks. Anakin could feel his calm radiating through the Force as Caleb stared straight ahead and moved with determination through the series.  His lightsaber cast a sharp blue glow over his body, Anakin and Caleb having moved further into the cave to give the younger ones space. The light travelled hypnotically around the boy, dancing off the nearby rocks and casting shadows into far corners. He was looking near-flawless as he finished the final round of movements, coming to a standstill, breathing evenly. Anakin gave him a few moments to collect himself.

“Want to spar?” Anakin asked casually, pushing himself off the rock.

The grin that lit Caleb’s face could have powered a whole station. He nodded twice and then settled into the opening Form III stance. Anakin powered on his saber and leapt at his young friend.

It was an enjoyable bout. It reminded Anakin of his days training Ahsoka. He did enough to keep Caleb on his toes and to occasionally breach his defences, but never went harder than the boy could handle. Caleb managed to get a few good near-hits in as well, spotting slight gaps in Anakin’s defences and working hard to get at them. When Caleb failed to block an easy swipe, Anakin pulling the swing to avoid injury, they called it off.

Anakin grinned as Caleb caught his breath. There was a bright, warm bubble of pride in Anakin’s chest as he watched the Padawan. He’d come so far in the last year and a half and had grown up so much.

“How do you feel?” Anakin asked, walking over and resting his hand on Caleb’s shoulder.

“Good,” Caleb said, smiling and looking up at Anakin. “I feel…really good, uh focused…and umm…balanced in myself.”

Anakin blinked. _Balanced_.

“Fuck,” Anakin breathed out, ideas slotting together in his head at an alarming speed. His worldview shifting on its axis in a heartbeat.

He needed to talk to Qui-Gon.

“Plo, can you watch the kids?” Anakin called, already running for the exit to the cave. Then he realised what he’d just done and yelled,“You did amazing, Caleb! Keep it up! I’ll be back!”

Plo watched him with amusement, tuning as Anakin passed him. “Of course. Have fun.”

“Be back soon,” Anakin yelled, waving back at the children. Reaching the base of the slope into the cave, Anakin leapt upwards with a quick thrust of the Force, making the climb in moments. He ran back along the well trodden path to the usual meditation spot. There was really no reason that this was where they contacted Qui-Gon. It was just habit at this point.

Anakin sat down, skidding to a halt before Obi-Wan’s favourite rock. He settled into a comfortable pose and focused on communing with the Force and calling out to his Grandmaster.

“Something seems to have you excited,” came Qui-Gon’s deep rumble beside him.

“I think I figured it out,” Anakin began without preamble. “The prophecy bullshit. Balance and all that. You said you wanted us to think on it.”

Qui-Gon turned to look at him closely. He raised his spectral eyebrows.

“The Jedi had it wrong,” Anakin continued. “Our stupid policies of non-attachment and impartiality and being bound to the whims of the Senate, were wrong and had stagnated the Order. Here, even with their homes and family gone, the kids are happy and still progressing in their abilities, perhaps even more so than they had been. Obi-Wan and I are happy and haven’t gone of the deep end, Plo and Luminara are slowly coming around to how we live here. I think…” Anakin paused. He was sure he was right, but he hated admitting that that stupid karking prophecy was real. He didn’t like what that put on him, but he also recognised that he ended up here without actively trying to ever fulfil it. That had to mean something surely? He pushed the thought aside. “I think this is how I bring balance. The Sith wiped out the Jedi, destroying a failing system of inaction and corruption through the Senate. Now, we have a chance to start again. We don’t have to be the unfeeling Jedi of the past. We can accept our feelings and still do good and _help_ people. The Jedi flew too far off course of what we should have been and now I have the chance to correct it.”

When Anakin looked up from where his eyes had travelled, landing on his home, Qui-Gon was smiling at him.

“What do you think?” Anakin asked, when Qui-Gon said nothing.

“I think it doesn’t matter what I think, even if we have had similar thoughts,” his Grandmaster said finally. “I think your belief is what matters, Anakin. I think you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to.”

Anakin felt himself flush at the compliment.

He looked up at the sky. “Even if we somehow get rid of Palpatine and fix everything like the rebellion is trying to do, I never want to be in charge of something like that. Not anymore. My family is too important to me.” Now that he was happy and secure in a way he had never been before in his life, he didn’t want the same things that he had before. He didn’t _want_ to be on the Council, he didn’t _want_ anything like that. He wanted his kids and his partners and a home.

“You don’t have to _be_ anything,” Qui-Gon said. “You just might need to set it in motion. What part of being a Jedi did you enjoy the most.”

“I was always best at fighting.”

Qui-Gon shook his head. “I asked what you _enjoyed_ the most, Anakin, not what you were best at.”

Oh.

“Ahsoka,” Anakin replied without hesitation. “I enjoyed teaching Ahsoka the most.” He paused. “I’ve enjoyed teaching the twins and Caleb.”

Qui-Gon smiled and raised his eyebrows.

Everything clicked into place in his mind.

If they ever went back, he could stay on Coruscant with Padmé and Obi-Wan. He could work in the crèche or teach the Padawans. That…sounded really nice actually.

Of course, they were a long ways away from being able to return to Coruscant. Anakin took a deep breath in and out. He had time to think about it.

He should tell Obi-Wan. His former Master turned lover could help Anakin with the ramifications of his discovery.

Anakin paused. This wasn’t something to discuss over a comm channel. He wanted to have this conversation in person. He felt all the worry and the uncertainty he had ever felt lift from his shoulders.

Qui-Gon spoke into the silence. “When you know what you want to do about it all, I think Obi-Wan, Plo, Luminara, you, and myself should discuss it. You’re going to need as many people on your side as possible if you want to enact this change you have decided on.”

Anakin smiled and nodded.

He finally understood where he fit in the galaxy.

He had been barely able to contain his excitement on the final few comm-calls he had with his family. Now they were coming home.

* * *

Anakin watched the ramp of the ship lower in anticipation, already grinning like an idiot. He didn’t care though. As it extended downward, Anakin saw Obi-Wan and Padmé standing near the top, Padmé already having caught his gaze. Slowly, Leia was revealed, Padmé leaning down beside her and pointing towards Anakin, whispering something in her ear. Leia’s eyes looked around briefly before landing on him. A toothy grin broke over her face, Anakin just catching an excited, “Dad!” over the dying hum of the engine.

The moment the ramp was completely down, Obi-Wan released their daughter’s hand and Leia went sprinting down the ramp at him. Anakin crouched down, opening his arms, and was hit with the full force of the four year old. If Anakin was not a strong man, or one with a stupid amount of Force power, he would certainly have fallen over. Instead, he deftly caught and, in one swift movement, Anakin wrapped his arms around her and stood up, lifting her easily and swinging her around in a wide circle.

Leia laughed, letting her arms and legs swing free as he spun them around. He gave her a good couple of rotations before slowing back down and setting his daughter back on her feet. Leia wobbled for a moment before she grinned up at him.

“Hi Dad.”

“Hello my darling Leia,” Anakin said, crouching back on the ground to meet her eye level. “Did you have a good flight?”

“Mmmhmm,” she said, nodding seriously. “It was fun. Can we go home now?  

Anakin smiled. “Of course. I just need to say hello and goodbye to everyone else.”

Leia nodded and trotted over to Ahsoka, leaving her bag at Anakin’s feet.

“Hello my love,” Padmé said stepping into Anakin’s orbit and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She leant back to hang off of him, smiling warmly at him. “Miss me?”

“Dearly.” Anakin’s hands fell to her waist and pulled her even closer for a tight embrace, melding their bodies together. Anakin leant down and secured his face in the crook of her neck, taking a long moment to just breathe. Padmé smelt like space travel and a foreign soap but, beneath that, she smelt exactly as he remembered. Perfect.

He pulled back and pressed their lips together, feeling the smile on her lips.

“It’s good to be home,” Padmé said as they parted. “Everything been okay?”

Anakin nodded. “Yeah. Luke will be pleased to have everyone home again.”

A shadow moved in beside them and Anakin turned to smile at Obi-Wan. Anakin kept one hand on Padmé’s waist as his durasteel one reached out and hooked gently onto Obi-Wan’s jaw, drawing him in.

“Missed you too,” Anakin muttered a moment before their mouth’s met in an all-too-brief kiss. He would have liked more, but he understood that Obi-Wan disliked the publicity of it all. Besides, Padmé was giving him a look that said there could be much more of that at home if he played his cards right.

“Shall we go home?” Anakin suggested as the three of them pulled apart fully.

“Please. You fetch Leia back from Ahsoka, we’ll get our things,” Padmé said, throwing him a final, warm glance, before dragging Obi-Wan back toward the ship. Anakin spied his daughter still hanging off of Ahsoka’s arm as she and Rex inspected a crate.

“Snips,” he greeted, wandering into their space. “Rex.”

“Skyguy,” Ahsoka replied, a toothy grin being turned on him.

“You staying?” Anakin asked her, trying not to sound too hopeful. Leia abandoned her elder sister’s hand to clutch at Anakin’s, yawning loudly.

Ahsoka smiled at him. “No, but Obi-Wan convinced me to have some time off. I’ll be by when my missions are done. I promise. Oh, also, could we borrow Artooie for a while? I have some stuff he’d be really helpful for.”

“Of course.” Anakin nodded, a knot in his heart unwinding knowing she’d be home soon and would have Artoo’s protection in the meantime. He turned to Rex, “What about you? You staying or going?”

“Going,” Rex said. “ _Someone’s_ got to keep an eye on Ahsoka.”

“Excuse you,” Ahsoka cut in, “ _who_ was it I had to stop from jumping down a burning elevator shaft?! If anything, _I_ should be keeping an eye on _you!_ ”

Rex rolled his eyes at her, turning back to Anakin. “I’ll be back when she comes back.”

“Don’t you ignore me!” Ahsoka said.

Rex blinked, unfazed. “Catch you later, Skywalker.” At that, he started walking back to the ship.

“Oi!” Ahsoka yelled after the ex-captain. She turned back to Anakin, pulling him into a hug. “I’ll see you soon,” she said warmly beside his head, before letting him go and jogging after Rex, yelling at him all the while.

Anakin smiled.

True to his prediction, Luke was utterly beside himself when they got home. As the first to get through the door, Obi-Wan was quickly tackled by Luke in a powerful hug. He immediately began babbling into Obi-Wan’s pants, muffled but insistent. Anakin couldn’t catch what he was saying, but Obi-Wan seemed to be following, kneeling down and pulling the boy in for a real hug. Padmé joined them within seconds, wrapping a hand around Luke’s shoulders and kissing his forehead. Anakin was fairly certain he saw a few tears from both Luke and Padmé.

“Dad I wanna play outside,” Leia informed him, taking a hold of his hand and giving it a little tug.

“With me?”

Leia nodded, tugging again. “And Luke please.”

Luke’s head whipped around at his name.

“Alright, go grab Luke and we can let Mom and Daddy have a shower and get changed,” Anakin said.

Padmé gave him a grateful smile. Anakin understood. Nothing felt better than a real shower after a long interstellar journey.

Leia wasted no time rounding Luke up and dragging him toward the front door. Luke went easily, yelling, “Come play after,” at Padmé and Obi-Wan.

After a long game of chase and a quick Force exercise of “keep the pebble off the ground,” Anakin inevitably ended up sitting in the sand while Leia played with his hair and Luke secured in Anakin’s lap. The two siblings chatted amongst themselves with the occasional input from Anakin. The twins mainly seemed to be very happy to catch up with one another.

By the time Padmé and Obi-Wan re-appeared, now back to their usual Tatooinian garb, Anakin had his hair pulled in a tail on one side of his head and Leia was working on adding as many little plaits to the rest of him as she possibly could. Padmé sat down beside Anakin, smiling all the while at what Anakin could only assume was a _great_ look. The moment Padmé hit the ground, Luke scrambled from Anakin’s lap and plopped down into Padmé’s, quickly being secured in her arms.

“Looking good, Leia,” Obi-Wan said, inspecting her work before sitting down between them all, leaning himself up against Padmé.

[“Dad has the best hair for plaiting,” Leia informed them all, refusing to take her eyes off her work. “Is’real long.”](http://edenwolfie.tumblr.com/post/169762046386/when-the-writers-block-so-bad-you-gotta-draw-the)

“My hair used to be even longer than that,” Padmé said conversationally.

Leia did pause at that, brown eyes looking over at her mother. “Really?”

Padmé nodded. “Uh-huh, all the way down to here,” she said, indicating to around her elbow.

Leia looked thoughtful for a long moment. “One day my hair’s gonna be that long.” She then launched into a few thoughts she had about Jyn’s hair and all the fun things they’d done together. She seemed particularly adamant to share every detail with Anakin. Evidently, just over a week spent together meant that Leia knew rather a lot about the other girl and was enough to cement a rather strong attachment in his daughter, a thought which pleased Anakin.

It was good to have everyone home.

* * *

The next day when everyone was once again rested, fed, and settled back into their usual routine, Anakin decided he couldn’t wait any longer. Also, Obi-Wan kept sending him concerned glances. Given that yesterday Anakin kept accidentally sending bursts of excitement and happiness along their bond and then promising _later_ when Obi-Wan tried to ask about it, it was clearly worrying him.

Anakin had managed to get some of the morning off and so he waylaid Obi-Wan as he was finishing up the early vaporator round. He’d already collected up their ‘sabres so he dragged an intrigued Obi-Wan up along the worn path to the cave.

“So are you going to tell me what has you so worked up yet?” Obi-Wan asked, palming the lightsaber Anakin had handed him.

“Soon,” Anakin replied, smiling at the eye roll it gained him. “I missed having you to train with. I thought we could spar first?”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Of course.”

They went through some warm up exercises and katas in near silence, Anakin just basking in the feeling of having him and the rest of his family back again. He really didn’t enjoy when they had to put their shields up properly between one another. He liked having Obi-Wan in his head and, if he could, he’d happily have Padmé in there as well.

When they were warmed up, they began the bout.

It was fast and serious, Obi-Wan’s eyes losing their usual light humour, replaced with the dark, clinical gaze of General Kenobi. Anakin felt his own mind go quiet and focused as he returned every hit, dodged quick swipes, and tried to gain ground on his friend. It was the kind of fight that made the Padawans sit in utter silence as they tried to follow what the two Masters were doing. Anakin ducked and sprang backwards at a particularly low swipe, spinning as he went to catch the quick swing he knew Obi-Wan liked to use. It felt like a well practiced dance.

Ever since Obi-Wan had recovered from his run in with the Inquisitors, he really had thrown himself back into training. It had vaguely worried Anakin for a short while, but given that Obi-Wan wasn’t doing anything reckless or dangerous with his training and it seemed to make him happier, Anakin left well enough alone.

In Anakin’s opinion, they were both back to the skill level they’d had towards the end of the war. It had also helped to have Plo and Luminara to train with on occasion. Variety was good. Anakin had also continued to have the odd lightsaber lesson with Rex when he was around. He would never be amazing, lacking any real Force ability, but he was definitely good at welding the weapon now and Anakin would trust him to use it in a real fight.

They must have traded blows back and forth for a good half hour before Obi-Wan finally stepped back and gestured for a break, satisfaction and fatigue in every line of his body.

“I need to tell you something,” Anakin said, powering off his lightsaber and hitching it to his belt.

“Oh?” Obi-Wan asked, turning his own blade of with a crooked grin on his lips. “Are you finally going to tell me whatever has you so excited?”

“Yeah. I worked it out,” Anakin told him, the joy bubbling back to the surface. He stepped swiftly forward and pulled Obi-Wan towards him by the fingertips. “The prophecy. Balance. All of that.”

Obi-Wan’s head snapped up to look up at him with searching eyes.

The two of them stood together, Obi-Wan listening quietly, as Anakin walked his partner through the fateful afternoon and its revelations, finishing with the fact that Qui-Gon had, essentially, agreed with him.

“I’m so proud of you,” Obi-Wan said softly, looking up at Anakin with a burning adoration in his eyes, cutting into Anakin’s latest sentence. Anakin felt his skin tingle where Obi-Wan held his face, palms warm against his cheeks. Then, Obi-Wan was kissing him, breaking between kisses to murmur against Anakin’s lips, “I always believed in you, Anakin. I always knew you’d be incredible.”

Anakin felt himself melt at the praise, warmth and happiness filling his chest and lifting his lips into a smile. Anakin kissed back with determined force, pulling Obi-Wan closer to himself.

“Qui-Gon thinks we should sit down with Plo and Luminara and discuss the future of the Jedi.”

“And what do you think?”

Anakin smiled, beyond pleased that Obi-Wan was more interested in his opinion than Qui-Gon’s. “I think it’s a good idea. Padmé and the rebellion have a contingency plan; I don’t see why we shouldn’t as well.”

Obi-Wan nodded, returning the smile. “Then let’s do it.”

They roped Padmé in first upon returning to the farm, Anakin explaining his thoughts again to his wife. Padmé nodded thoughtfully through the whole explanation before asking, “So what do you want me for?”

“Well, I thought your input would be helpful from the Senate’s perspective. Between my own revelation and the pre-planning you all did at the summit, it makes me want to have a vague plan in place,” Anakin said slowly. “We don’t want it going back to the way it was.”

Padmé nodded thoughtfully.

That evening, the three of them cornered Plo and Luminara on the bottom floor of the house, with Qui-Gon popping in to help as well. While Padmé couldn’t see him, they managed to work around it, with usually Obi-Wan or Anakin repeating his thoughts to her. Anakin was surprised how easily the other two Jedi Masters came around to the ideas. He had been certain he’d have to fight much harder on most points. It appeared that their time here had shifted a few deep seated ideals.

Suddenly they had the shape of a plan and a few agreed upon details.

They decided to not _take_ children from their parents. From Plo came the concept of a having the Temple be more like a boarding school, something done back on Dorin to educate children who had to travel far. Anakin was fascinated by the concept. They got to come to school and learn, but still go home to their families if they wanted to. Anakin felt a jealous pang for children who had been able to do that. Obi-Wan clearly felt it across their bond and offered Anakin an apologetic look. Anakin shook his head. Padmé thought that this would be an option that the Senate would likely look favourably upon, or at least would not be a hard sell.

Once that had been sorted, they had delved into the whole Master and Padawan debacle. Obi-Wan very, _very_ gingerly suggested that perhaps having more than one adult interacting with the child would be a better way to go, and would avoid certain one-on-one personal _issues_. Qui-Gon had the sense to look a little chastened and nodded in agreement. Eventually, they decided on removing the Master and Padawan pair entirely. Instead, they would try to have different Masters teaching different classes and then, if they needed to give the Padawan life experience, could send them out on pair missions, but not keep the same pair each time. This removed the insular problems from before and also helped solve the problem of the fact that there was going to be quite a shortage of Master Jedi.

Padmé had then suggested a possible solution to at least the lack of manpower. She detailed to the group the plan the Rebel Council had in place for creating citizenship for the remnants of the Clone army. From everything Bail knew, the clones still had no citizenship or rights as people in the Empire. Padmé’s plan had been to first, organise rights and citizenship for all of them, and then do what she could to find them work. She and the rest of the Council figured many of the clones would find things to do independently, but she’d felt obligated to at least create options. The Rebel Council, in their many bills and statements they had drawn up over the last week, had created a few work initiatives that people could volunteer for, so Padmé was suggesting that they add working at the new Jedi Temple to that list. She reasoned that they’d need building crews, maintenance staff, administration staff and more to get everything running again, and that given the vast range of skill sets, they could probably teach the kids too. Wolffe piped up from his room that he thought that was a good idea.

Plo had half-agreed to be the Master of the Order for now and a small, vindictive part of Anakin was very pleased that they were essentially unseating Yoda. Anakin had had a long time to think about the Jedi and examine their failings, and he had definitely linked a lot of those issues to the way Yoda had clung to the old ways and refused to change.

The main sticking point was that of operating independently of the Senate. Padmé completely agreed with them that it should not go back to how it was, with the Jedi at the beck-and-call of the Senate and the Senate only, but she also knew that was going to be hard to convince the Senate of. The best suggestions they could think of, and they thought of a lot, was to have one or two Jedi working as a permanent representative for the Jedi Council in the Senate, keeping the Jedi Order as a whole as more of a separate organisation rather than an arm of the government. That way at least, they could still work with the Senate and moderate a lot of the politics, while also remain able to take work from other outside sources. Of course, they all recognised that it would likely be some time before the Order was back to any kind of functioning state, so they at least had time to work on that particular pitch.

By the end of the evening, Anakin walked away feeling really good about the future of the Jedi, however far off it was.

* * *

The next month passed much as it had done in the past. Anakin fixed things and freed people, Obi-Wan and Padmé buried themselves in rebellion work and household chores. Kix patched up what seemed to be half of Tatooine every week, while Jesse attempted to feed the other half (thankfully with six growing children in the house, it never went to waste) and Wolffe did whatever it was he felt like doing. Plo and Luminara trained with them and the Padawans as well as beginning to go into town more and integrating with Tatooine, Threepio acting as their translator and general helper (read: nuisance). The kids all kept themselves entertained, playing and training in equal measure. Luke still had the occasional nightmare, easily solved by letting him climb into bed with them fall asleep surrounded by his parents. Inevitably however, Leia would discover him missing and end up in bed with them as well. It was lucky the bed was big, but even so, it was beginning to get rather cramped some nights. Ahsoka and Rex still hadn’t made it home, but things seemed to be wrapping up for them both and Anakin held high hopes that they would return soon. Hondo hadn’t been seen around for a while, but Anakin didn’t worry; the pirate could end up in a world-ending scenario and then talk himself right back out of it. Anakin didn’t necessarily _like_ Hondo, but he was entertaining, the kids loved him, and he hadn’t turned them into the Empire or anyone else, so he was fine in Anakin’s book.

“So,” Anakin began, dropping onto the bed as the day wound to a close. Obi-Wan and Padmé looked up at him, Obi-Wan sitting up in bed with a book on his lap, and Padmé finishing pulling her nightgown over her head. “Since we haven’t had any date time for the three of us recently, I thought we could use an afternoon to ourselves,” Anakin said with a smile. “I’ve bribed Jesse into watching the twins for whenever we want to go. When suits you both?”

“Go where?” Padmé asked, setting herself on the end of the bed.

“Out,” Anakin said vaguely. “I thought a picnic would be nice, and the location is a surprise.”

Obi-Wan put his book down and gave him a fond smile. “That sounds lovely. Whenever works best for you, Anakin. Our schedules are more flexible.”

Anakin grinned, unable to keep his excitement off his face. “Wizard. Okay, I think I can get the day off sometime over the next few days? I’ll keep you all posted.”

Padmé flopped down beside him. “Come here, you big romantic,” she said, gripping a fist-full of his hair and gently pulling him towards her. Anakin went without argument.

The three of them left for their picnic a few days later, Anakin able to wrangle an afternoon to be free of work. Their Jedi housemates had taken off up to the training grounds an hour earlier, with Jesse and the twins hanging back as the trooper-turned-culinary master promised to let Luke and Leia help him make dinner. From the sounds of it, Leia had talked him into making a cake for dinner as well. Luke had been sad to watch them go, more clingy since Padmé and Obi-Wan’s weeks away, but Anakin had given him a hug and promised that Anakin would bring his Mom and Daddy back soon.

Once everything was sorted, Anakin directed his partners into the speeder and drove them to the location he’d discovered a couple of months ago when he’d gotten lost coming back from a job. Just under an hour’s drive north-west away from home, Anakin had found a little oasis beneath the shadow of a large rock formation. The water hole itself was rather small, but the flora around it seemed to flourish. Anakin could feel in the Force how the water travelled further beneath the ground.

As they came upon the location, Padmé sat up straighter in her seat, wind tousling her hair and looking over to the clustered trees and bushes. It was a very picturesque location, especially by Tatooine standards.

They pulled up at the edge of the greenery, Padmé climbing out before the speeder had come to a complete stop.

“This is _lovely_ , Ani,” she murmured, staring at the the oasis.

“Go find us some shade?” Anakin asked, passing Padmé a blanket he’d dug out of a cupboard this morning. She nodded excitedly and walked with determination into the grove of trees.

“Want help with the snacks?” Obi-Wan offered, leaning against the speeder and watching Padmé go.

“Yeah,” Anakin replied and pulled a couple of bags from the back of the vehicle, handing one to Obi-Wan. “There’s glass in there so be careful.”

Obi-Wan nodded and the two of them followed after Padmé. They picked their way through the foliage, carefully stepping over shrubs and rocks, while trying to not catch their hair in the low hanging branches.

“Padmé?” Anakin called, frowning around them for a hint of her.

“Here!” her voice called and Anakin turned to see her pop up a ways off to their left, her face appearing just above a collection of bushes.

“I finally found a bit of ground that wasn’t covered in vegetation,” Padmé said proudly as they drew closer. “It was a harder task than I initially thought it would be.”

Obi-Wan placed the bag he had been carrying beside the worn grey blanket. “You picked a nice spot,” he said, resting his hands on his hips and looking around them.

Anakin had to agree. It was shady and with just enough space to lay out the blanket while also not feeling too closed in. He could also feel a light, cool breeze on his face as the wind blew over the water nearby. He placed his bag beside Obi-Wan’s.

“How did you know this was here?” Padmé asked, settling onto the blanket and pulling Anakin down with her.

“Found it out on a job. I may have gotten a little lost,” he replied, bumping his shoulder up against hers.

“Well,” Obi-Wan said, sitting down beside them, “your misadventure is our gain.” He glanced over to the two bags. “So what did you bring for us?”

Anakin shuffled up again, dragging both bags closer. “Snacks and drinks. I considered bringing some of the good wine, but then I realised someone would have to drive home and that’s no fun. Instead we have some of Jesse’s excellent funnel cordial.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Don’t tell the twins we had it without them.”

“I would never start such a war,” Anakin replied blandly. He pulled three glasses from the bag and handed them around, Obi-Wan holding Anakin’s glass for him. Then, once he had found the bottle, filled their glasses.

“Jesse was wasted in the army,” Padmé hummed as she took a sip of the beverage. “He really should open a restaurant at some point.”

Anakin nodded. Setting the bottle aside by gently resting it up against a twisted shrub, Anakin went digging through the second bag and, plate by plate, unpacked the array of food he and the twins had put together. Sandwiches were the main staple accompanied with a selection of sliced fruit, cheese, and thin biscuits.

Anakin watched the way Padmé’s eyes lit up at the food, her fingers snatching up one of the sandwiches. Taking a bite, she paused, then continued eating. “Did the twins help with these?” she asked after swallowing.

“Uh, yes?”

“Ah.”

Anakin’s heart sank. “Are they bad?” Anakin asked.

Padmé smiled at the sandwich. “No, not bad. Just… _creative_ with the fillings. I hadn’t considered berry jam, bantha cheese, and sliced tato might be good together.”

“ _Terrors_. I gave them pretty clear instructions,” Anakin mumbled. “Watched them too. I don’t even _know_ where they got tato from…”

Obi-Wan chuckled beside him, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. “We’ll manage.”

As it turned out, _most_ of the sandwiches were filled with normal things, with only a few being a little more adventurous. Padmé clearly lost the initial gamble. The three of them descended into relative quiet as they ate, mainly talking about day to day life or to describe the new realms of flavours invented by their children.

By the end of the meal, Anakin had drained his glass and melted into Obi-Wan’s embrace, his body between Obi-Wan’s legs and his head resting on his partner’s chest. Obi-Wan had one arm half wrapped around him while the other seemed to be holding them both up. Padmé was lying on her stomach to his left, propped up on her elbows while smiling up at them and nibbling on a small hunk of cheese, her glass sitting on a flat section of land. He nudged her side with his foot.

“Can I have some?” he asked, nodding at the plate of fruit on her other side.

Padmé blinked at him. “Some what?”

“Fruit.”

She blinked again. “What fruit?” He watched as she had the audacity to pick up a cube of melon and put it in her mouth. Padmé grinned at him, a dribble of juice sliding down her chin.

“Oh I see how it is,” Anakin murmured and removed himself from Obi-Wan’s embrace.

Padmé finished eating the snack and only continued to smile more brightly at him, rolling onto her side to hide the plate from view while maintaining eye contact. “Oh, do you now?” she asked lightly.

He went straight for the kill, his fingers dexterously finding the patches of Padmé’s skin that he knew were the most sensitive to a good tickling.

“Okay! Okay Anakin! You win!” Padmé shrieked almost immediately between laughs, shoving at him with her arms in a vain attempt to get him off. “Take the fruit! Gods!”

Anakin smiled, taking a moment to enjoy Obi-Wan’s delighted smile as well, and sat back on his heels, leaning in to press a kiss to her warm cheek before taking the plate with him. “You know, I think it’s—”

Anakin felt his heart stop as he felt a brief stab of fear and confusion. Then nothing.

His bond to the twins was just gone.

The twins were gone.

 _Gone_.

Without breathing, Anakin’s head snapped around to look at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan’s face had turned white as snow and was staring back at Anakin, his jaw clenched together.

Kriffing fuck.

“We gotta go,” Anakin said, sharply, leaping up and pulling Padmé after him, the plate of food abandoned on the ground. “Now.”

His heart had started again and it had doubled down to beat at light speed. Anakin tried to tamp down on the panic rising in his throat and the inevitable anger hot on its heels. He had to keep it together.

“Anakin what?” Padmé asked, following after him, glancing back at the picnic they were abandoning. She turned. “Obi-Wan?”

“We can’t feel the twins,” Obi-Wan said flatly. Anakin looked at him and could see his partner trying to stifle his anxiety as well.

Anakin took a deep breath.

Padmé halted in her movement, bringing Anakin to a stop along with her. She was pale and trembling beneath his hand as it curled around her wrist. Her voice was barely audible when she spoke. “What?”

Anakin gave another tug to her wrist to keep her moving. She didn’t budge. “The bond is…blocked,” Anakin began, trying to explain the feeling. “They’re not hurt as far as we know but we _can’t feel them and we need to go,”_ Anakin urged her.

Padmé nodded with wide eyes and the two of them picked up the pace. As they emerged from the trees, Obi-Wan was already climbing into the passenger's seat. Anakin had the vehicle started and off before any of them were seated fully, but he was not wasting time. His hands shook where they held the wheel.

Just over half an hour later, because Anakin had floored the damn speeder, they found Jesse laying face down in the middle of the lounge room. Padmé was on the floor beside him in moments, Anakin right behind, helping her roll him over. Obi-Wan nodded at the pair of them and swept through the house like a shadow, checking for intruders.

When Jesse was rolled to his back, they revealed a swelling lump and drying blood on Jesse’s left temple. Someone had hit the trooper with quite a force. Anakin clenched his jaw. Anakin watched Padmé dart up from the floor and vanish into the kitchen, soon returning with a dampened tea towel. She moved back to her seat on the floor and gently wiped at Jesse’s blood stained face.

As Obi-Wan reappeared, shaking his head at finding anyone, Jesse groaned and finally dragged himself back to consciousness.

“Anakin?” Jesse asked him blearily, squinting up from the floor.

“Are you alright?” Padmé asked, watching him closely.

Jesse moved and then cringed. “M’head hurts…” In an instant, clarity seemed to take hold of Jesse, his eyes snapping open as he tried to sit up only to be held down by a frowning Padmé.

“Take it easy, Jesse,” she said, her hand on his chest.

“They took the twins,” Jesse said in a rush, trying harder this time to sit up and easily batting Padmé’s hands away. Anakin made sure to keep a cautionary hand behind his friend in case he fell back again. He also wasn’t sure he could trust himself to speak right now. Every word seemed caught in his throat while also being fit to burst from him. Jesse didn’t deserve Anakin losing it at him. Obi-Wan and Padmé had this.

“Who did Jesse?” Obi-Wan asked, his voice perfectly even, crouching to sit with the other three.

Jesse frowned. “Those people who come for money every year. That Klatoonian. He had others with him.”

Anakin was going to kill them.

“What did they do to the twins?” Obi-Wan continued. Anakin held the man in the highest esteem for being able to remain so calm.

Jesse stared into space with a tight expression. “They…I was in the kitchen and the twins were in here. I heard Leia yell and came running in to find the intruders grabbing the kids. I managed to hit two of them but I think…someone got me. It all went black after that.”

“Anything else?” Obi-Wan pressed.

“They had put something on the twins necks,” Jesse said slowly. “Black, looked metallic.”

“Force suppression collar,” Obi-Wan mumbled. “That would make sense. Kriff. Thank you Jesse. Are the others back yet?”

“No, still training,” Jesse replied.

“Think you can get up?”

Jesse nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’ve had worse.”

“Why the fuck would Jabba take our children?” Padmé all but yelled once Jesse was seated on the couch, her voice cracking part-way through.

Anakin felt his whole body go cold, wishing he could sink into the floor.

“Because of me,” Anakin said, his voice barely audible, still trying to hold everything in.

Obi-Wan looked at him slowly. “What do you mean, Anakin?”

Anakin struggled to get the words out. His mouth doing everything it possibly could to keep the words from escaping. “Kitster and I have been freeing slaves,” his mouth finally settled on. “We’ve been buying and winning their freedom and getting them off-world.”

There was a long, tense, beat of silence.

“How long has this been going on?” Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin breathed for a moment.

“Nearly 2 years.”

“Why didn’t you tell us!?” Padmé cried, rounding on him.

“Because I couldn’t bear it if you told me to stop!” Anakin yelled back.

Padmé made a face. “We wouldn’t have—” she cut herself off. Padmé looked down, a series of emotions crossing her face, too fast and too unusual for Anakin to follow.

Padmé lapsed into silence, Obi-Wan staring at Anakin with pained eyes.

Obi-Wan decided to break the silence, clearly trying to keep his voice level as he asked, “Why would you think we’d tell you to stop?”

“Because you’ve never helped in the past!” Anakin replied, his voice still raised. “The Jedi and the Senate never did anything about this galaxy’s slavery problem! Never helped! We all knew it was a problem! Me more than anyone! I _asked_ that we do something about it! The both of you always placed the blame of not being able to _do anythin_ g on everything and everyone else! Always _someone else’s_ problem!” Anakin’s face scrunched, clearly struggling with himself. “I couldn’t trust your answers—!”

“Anakin, we all promised to not keep secrets—” Padmé cut in.

“—I was finally doing something _good_ and I wasn’t going to let you put a stop to it!” Anakin finished, breathing heavily.

Padmé exhaled sharply, held her hands up to Anakin, clearly swallowing down everything she wanted to say, and shook her head. She ended with, “We can yell each other about this later. We need to get the twins. Let’s go.”

Anakin and Obi-Wan nodded simultaneously.

The three of them moved quickly. Padmé grabbed two blasters from near the door, swiftly inspecting them, while Obi-Wan hurried downstairs to fetch their lightsabers. Anakin went to go get the speeder warmed up.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Jesse asked, getting off the couch and following a half step behind Anakin, feeling too much like he was a soldier at Anakin’s command.

Anakin stopped and turned, placing his hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “No, stay here. Someone should watch the house and let the others know what happened. Please do follow after us if you don’t hear from us in four hours though. When we know anything, we’ll comm you, okay?”

“Got it.” Jesse shifted on his feet. “I really am sorry.”

“I know,” Anakin said, doing his best to not let the worry seep into his tone. “There’s nothing to be done about it. We couldn’t have known. It’s not your fault, Jesse.”

Jesse gave him a half-hearted smile and nodded. The trooper then stood there listlessly for a while.

“Why don’t you go tell the other’s what’s happened now if you’re feeling okay?” Anakin suggested. “Lock down the fort…” He lost the ability to speak again.

Jesse nodded seriously and Anakin recognised the determined stare of a Clone Trooper, intense to a degree he hadn’t seen on their friend’s face in years.

“Good luck,” Jesse said and hurried out the front door.

That sorted, Anakin trailed after him and prepared the speeder. He sat, glaring at the steering wheel, and trying to not let the anxiety of the day overwhelm him. He needed to keep it together.

Jabba would regret touching his children.

It would be the very last thing he would feel.

Suddenly Obi-Wan and Padmé were climbing into the vehicle, Padmé sliding into the middle seat, and Obi-Wan beside her.

“Let’s go,” Padmé said flatly.

The speeder ride was silent aside from the muffled sobs that came from Padmé. She sat between the pair of them, her knees tucked up to her chest with her feet resting on the edge of the seat. Her face was buried in her knees, muting her cries but not the way her shoulders shook. Out of the corner of his eye, Anakin noticed Obi-Wan sling his arm around her shoulders. Anakin spared one hand from the wheel to rest on her knee, feeling utterly sick as he stared out the windshield.

Jabba’s palace grounds were strangely empty when they arrived; not a guard in sight. Anakin forced open the doors with the Force, swiping his hand sideways with a viciousness he felt deep in his soul. He felt Padmé and Obi-Wan look at him, but he ignored them. Anakin was on a mission to get his kids back and a curse upon any who dared get in his way. He didn’t care if Padmé and Obi-Wan disapproved.

He blinked when the guard that greeted them by levelling a weapon at them was suddenly blasted back, falling to the ground, dead.

Padmé just looked at him, stalking past Anakin with her blaster in hand. Obi-Wan gave him a glance, handed Anakin his lightsaber, and followed after Padmé, Obi-Wan’s own unlit lightsaber in his hand. Clearly the three parents were all on the same page...Good to know.

Anakin followed.

They met little resistance on the stairway down, Padmé blasting two more guards and Obi-Wan disarming another until, finally, the three of them were in Jabba’s throne room.

It was as he remembered; dark, dank, and smelling like death and excess. Criminals and bounty hunters lined the walls, secured in booths and chairs, while keeping half an eye on Jabba’s business and half an eye on the slaves being forced onto them. Jabba himself looked, if possible, larger and more deep in his vices than he had been last time. His eyes were glassy and wet, his mouth oozing saliva. Anakin’s skin crawled.

“Where are my children,” Anakin demanded the moment they were in front of the Hutt.

Anakin could hear the droid translating for the worm, but Anakin didn’t need that. He focused solely on Jabba.

“ _Isn’t it strange how fate works out. You, in my position from so long ago,"_ Jabba replied slowly, his large eyes fixed on Anakin.

Anakin clenched his jaw. Kriffing Stinky. He’d honestly done his best to forget having to help the damn Hutt.

Padmé raised her blaster at the slug. “Where. Are. They?”

Anakin heard the tell-tale scuffling and clicking of many, many weapons being pointed at them. Barely a breath later, Obi-Wan flicked his hand and every blaster and slug-thrower in the room pointed at them snapped in half.

Obi-Wan didn’t even blink.

Jabba did, however, leaning back to reassess the room.

“I’d recommend telling the lady, Jabba,” Obi-Wan said blithely.

“ _Not here,_ ” Jabba finally said.

“What do you mean, _not here!”_ Anakin yelled, stepping forward. “You _took_ them! You _stole_ them from our home! You took them because of what _I did_!”

Jabba quirked his head in a way that made Anakin feel ill. “ _What you did? No,”_ Jabba replied. “ _I took them because I was told to. I was paid well to. It is good to have the Emperor owe you a favour_.”

Anakin froze.

This wasn’t about him and Kitster freeing the slaves.

This was _Sidious_.

“Then you are no use to me,” Anakin bit out.

Anakin clenched his fist. There was a series of dark _snap_ s and heavy thuds on the stone floor.

He could feel everything.

Blood rushed in his ears. He was going to tear the galaxy apart to find his children. He would bring down the Empire single-handedly if he had to. He wanted to watch the life drain from the eyes of everyone who stood between him and his babies. Sidious was going to fucking rue the day he every _considered_ —

 _Anakin_.

A soft presence caressed the edge of his mind.

A hand rested tentatively over his own.

Anakin suddenly found himself back in his own body.

Back in Jabba’s Palace.

He blinked down at Padmé’s cool hand curled around his own. She stared at him with wide searching eyes, worry buried in the depths of those brown iris’. He felt Obi-Wan’s presence in his mind subside, turning his head to see Obi-Wan beside him, watching him with equal intensity.

“Are you alright?” Padmé asked, taking a step closer as his eyes returned to her.

Anakin blinked. “Yeah, I am now.” He shook his head. “Sorry.”

Obi-Wan took a step back and looked around them, taking in the scene, his lips pursed thoughtfully. Anakin caught the flash of a number of slaves making a break for the exit. Now that their masters were dead, it really was the ideal time to go. Anakin felt rather vindicated in his actions.

“Don’t forget that conversation we had about shields,” Obi-Wan said, returning his gaze to Anakin.

Anakin nodded seriously at him. “I haven’t.”

A twitch of a smile hinted at Obi-Wan’s mouth before he was climbing up onto Jabba’s dais, carefully avoiding touching the Hutt’s corpse.

“What now?” Padmé asked, still clinging to Anakin. “How do we find them?”

Anakin heard the waver in her voice and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him and resting his chin on the top of her head.

“I am currently—whoops,” Obi-Wan began, slipping over on the slick surface of the dais. “I’m looking for a tracker. I’d put good credits on Jabba hedging his bets and putting trackers of his own on the twins.”

While Obi-Wan searched, Anakin took the time to do exactly as mentioned and checked that all his shielding was in place. It was. That dark force in his mind had been him. No-one else. Anakin shook himself. Padmé and Obi-Wan had helped him just fine. He was fine. He had them both and he could manage.

“Where are you going?” Padmé called out, jarring Anakin out of his head.

“Downstairs,” Obi-Wan called over his shoulder as he swiftly moved away to continue his search.

Anakin felt his heart sink a little further; Obi-Wan hadn’t found anything on Jabba.

Padmé slowly separated herself from Anakin as time passed. He watched her pace back and forth for a short time, one hand wrapped around her stomach and the other hand clutching at her mouth. Anakin didn’t have to be Force sensitive to feel her distress.

“Do you think we should go after him?” Padmé asked five minutes later.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Anakin replied, able to feel Obi-Wan through their bond.

Padmé shot him a look.

They lapsed into silence again.

“You’ll never guess who I found passed out downstairs,” Obi-Wan’s voice suddenly said as he stalked back into the room.

Anakin looked up and watched as Hondo appeared in the doorway, clothes rumpled with his hat tucked under his arm.

The Weequay let out a low whistle. “I have _one_ wild night…” he muttered, taking in the scene.

“What are you doing _here_ ” Anakin asked, unable to keep the venom from his voice.

Hondo shrugged the tone off. “ _Ahhh_ , I was looking for work. The Hutts pay well. _Party_ hard too.”

Anakin grunted and turned his attention back to Obi-Wan. “Tracker?’

Obi-Wan just shook his head, his eyes empty.

“Sith hells,” Anakin breathed, his control slipping through his grasp like sand. He had been so fixated on getting them back. What happens if they can’t? What if it takes _time?_ Anakin felt ill. His stomach roiled sharply.

“Qui-Gon,” Obi-Wan said suddenly.

Anakin’s eyes widened in realisation. He watched Obi-Wan drop gracefully to the ground in one swift movement, settling into a meditative pose. Anakin felt his partner _reach out_ before he felt a sharp, twisting, _wrenching_ sensation go through the Force.

Suddenly Qui-Gon was there.

 _“Fascinating,”_ Qui-Gon said, his hands on his hips, staring down at Obi-Wan. “Very creativ—” Anakin pinpointed the exact moment the Jedi Master took in the mood and state of the room. “What has happened?”

“Sidious has taken the twins,” Anakin said without preamble.

“—Can you track them?” Obi-Wan cut in, the desperation in his voice finally cracking through the mask he’d been wearing since they’d felt the twins vanish. “You said that you can travel between people you have a strong connection with. You thought you could do it with the twins.”

Qui-Gon nodded.

“They…we think they have force suppression collars on,” Obi-Wan added hesitantly. “Do you still think—?”

“I will certainly try,” Qui-Gon replied. “Wait here.” He vanished.

Silence descended upon the room like a dark cloud. Obi-Wan remained seated on the ground, focusing on clutching at his fingers in his lap. Anakin absently watched him twist his fingers around and around for a long moment. When the twisting became clearly painful and Obi-Wan’s fingers began to turn a hot red, Anakin decided it was time to step in.

Anakin moved across the room and sat himself beside Obi-Wan. Anakin carefully placed his hands over his former master’s. He felt his friend’s hands tense for a split second before becoming completely boneless. Anakin leant himself firmly against the man and gripped their hands together, his thumbs stroking over the red patches on Obi-Wan’s hands.

Obi-Wan breathed out a shaky, “Sorry,” his hands turning like sunflowers toward Anakin.

Anakin just shook his head, giving Obi-Wan what he hoped was a positive smile.

He heard rather than saw Padmé move behind the pair of them. He felt it when she leant forward, draping herself against their backs, her face pressed into the line of where Anakin and Obi-Wan’s shoulders met. Her hands curled into the backs of their shirts. He felt her sigh into the position.

They were all terrified and cracking around the edges. What mattered was them supporting one another as they were doing. They could get through this.

Hondo had already found a bottle of wine and was settling himself beside Jabba’s dais, taking a long swig, his eyes roving over the damage and the three of them.

Anakin ignored him.

None of them asked the questions that hung heavily between them.

Qui-Gon reappeared thirty minutes later.

Anakin was on his feet in an instant. “Could you find them?”

“Them? No,” Qui-Gon said sadly. “The collars block them too well. I could, however, find Sidious, and with him soon after, were the twins.”

“Where are they? Are they alright?” Padmé asked, scrambling up from the floor.

“Distressed, but unhurt,” Qui-Gon reported. “As far as I could tell, Sidious’ ship is still in the sector. It’s hanging around the Pii system and hasn’t jumped to light-speed.” His image seemed to flicker oddly. "I would stay to help, but Sidious most certainly noticed my presence. He did something strange to my energy and I think I need to rest for a while. May the Force be with you all."

Anakin nodded and Qui-Gon vanished.

“Sidious wants us to come,” Anakin said flatly. “It’s a trap.”

Padmé smiled, the action not reaching her eyes. “We going?”

“Of course,” Anakin and Obi-Wan said together.

Padmé let out a tiny laugh. “Thought so.”

Hondo perked up, “Ahhh, so you need a ship, my friends?”

“That would be very convenient,” Padmé said, turning to the pirate.

“Take mine, it’s just out there.” Hondo thumbed at the side door.

“And what _exactly_ do you get out of this?” Obi-Wan asked.

Hondo grinned, wrapping his arm over Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “It would _appear_ that a certain Hutt has been dethroned, and I, the _Great Pirate Hondo_ , am in need of a new base and new followers.”

“No slavery,” Anakin said sharply. “And you leave the citizens of Tatooine alone.”

Hondo scoffed. “Who do you _take_ me for, Skywalker? You _wound me_ .” He waved his hand around vaguely. “Every good pirate knows not the plunder the port he sails from. Also I am a _pirate_ , not a _slaver_. I have _some_ standards!” Hondo moved to pat his hand affectionately on Anakin’s arm. “You can trust me. Now go fetch your little hellions. I have more gifts for them.”

Anakin had never wanted Hondo to give his kids a gift more than he did now. It could be a kriffing laser-whip for all he cared. He just wanted them back.

“I need to contact Jesse,” Anakin said, pulling out his comm-unit.

Padmé nodded. “Hondo can show us the ship.”

He watched the three of them go.

“Jesse?” Anakin asked, activating the small unit.

There was a long beat of silence. “This is Luminara,” came the warm tones of the Mirialan Jedi Master.

“How’s Jesse?”

“Fine,” she replied, voice crackling through the speaker. “Kix just got back and is checking him out. How are things on your end? Got the twins?”

“No.” The word came out more like a rasp than he had hoped. “Jabba has sent them to Sidious. We’re going to get them back. His ship is just somewhere around the Pii system and that’s where we’re heading.”

There was a long beat of silence.

“Alright,” Luminara said finally. “What can we do?”

Anakin felt something unclench from his heart.

“You all need to stay safe. Either fortify the farm or make plans to get off world. He knew where we lived and that puts all of you in danger as well,” Anakin said, his mind slipping into the familiar boots of General Skywalker. “Also, contact Bail, Ahsoka, or Rex and let them know what’s happened. They might be able to send help.”

“I will.”

“Thank you, Luminara.”

“May the Force be with you all.”

“And with you.”

They ended the call.

Another thought struck him and he dialled a different comm-number.

“Kitster here,” came the voice of his childhood friend.

“Hey Kit, it’s Ani, I can’t talk for long,” Anakin began.

“What’s happened?”

“Jabba’s dead.”

A beat.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Anakin replied a little breathlessly. “I’ve got a pirate friend here ready to take over the outlaws of the sector and he has assured me that slavery is out. Spread the word and begin the final plan.”

A bright laugh came through the device. “Sure thing! When can we expect you?”

Anakin let out a long breath. He wished he could celebrate such a glorious occasion. “I can’t. Something’s come up.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll see you soon as I can, Kitster.” Anakin hated how final his voice sounded.

Kitster's voice lost some of its brightness as he said, “See ya later, Ani.”

Anakin stood in silence for a few long breaths as the afternoon washed over him.

He knew the conversation with Padmé and Obi-Wan would have to happen eventually. He understood why they were upset, but he was still doing the right thing…

He felt a tug from Obi-Wan, drawing him towards the ship. With a final look at the carnage surrounding him, taking a final moment to feel satisfaction at the dead Hutt, Anakin went. The three of them boarded Hondo’s ship with a few instructions on the ships quirks and a wish of good luck. Padmé thanking the Weequay profusely and promising to have the ship returned as soon as they could. Hondo waved her a way, indicating to the now ownerless ships around them.

Anakin started the ship up and began their flight out of the atmosphere while Obi-Wan inputted coordinates to the Pii system while Padmé stood by the breaker that Hondo had said might need resetting when they hit the edge of the atmosphere.

Before they knew it, they were off. There was no point in going to hyperspace given the short distance they were travelling, but it meant that they had at least another hour or so flight ahead of them and Anakin was near going out of his head after ten minutes.

He found himself swirling in the whirlpool of thoughts that whipped through his mind..

This was every fear he’d had over the past few years. He never wanted to see Sidious again. He never wanted his children in danger. He just wanted all for them safe and happy and to forget about the fucking colossally stupid decision he’d made so many years ago. Now, here they were, flying directly towards the worst part of Anakin’s life. His stomach churned uncomfortably and his throat felt sewn shut. He hated that he couldn’t escape this. He hated Sidious.

“Why did he do this?” Padmé asked into the silence. “Why take the twins instead of just coming to the house? Palpatine obviously knew where we were. This seems like such a pointless run-around.”

Anakin felt Obi-Wan’s eyes on him for a moment.

“Its a power-play,” Obi-Wan said softly. “He wants us to come to him…wants _Anakin_ to willingly come back to him.”

“Ani?” Padmé asked, her hand coming to rest on his arm.

Anakin just shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Too much?”

He nodded.

“Would holding my hand help?” Padmé asked, her voice like silk.

Anakin opened his eyes and stared into her face, her hand offered out before her. Anakin nodded, grasped her hand, and pulled her toward him. Padmé came easily and allowed herself to be set on his lap and have his arms wrapped about her waist. Anakin buried his face in the back of her neck, inhaling deeply. This felt better.

“I still just don’t understand how he found us,” Obi-Wan muttered to no-one, staring out the window of the ship, eyes fixed on the barely visible Star Destroyer in the distance.

The rest of the flight passed easier after that. Having Padmé in his lap helped allay some of Anakin’s worries, allowing him to focus on her rather than the panicked fear threatening to consume him. He could also feel Obi-Wan doing something similar along their bond. Although he was on the other side of the room, he was doing his best to send Anakin some semblance of hope and affection. Anakin however, could also feel all the fear and sadness lapping at the edges of Obi-Wan’s own mind, and so returned the favour. He focused on the calm, grounded feelings that Padmé was helping him feel, and shared that with their other partner. Obi-Wan’s shoulders lost some of their tension, and Anakin had to feel good about that.

A feeling that fell apart when their ship docked with the Star Destroyer.

There was no way to sneak aboard, and Sidious was expecting them anyway. They may as well spring the trap properly and work things out from there. All that mattered was a getting the twins back safely.

The three of them stood by the door to the craft as docking procedures finished running, and they waited for was was sure to be a stormtrooper escort. Obi-Wan’s grip was white on his lightsaber. Padmé’s hand kept jumping between hanging casually at her side and brushing against where she had her blaster hidden beneath her skirt. Anakin could only assume she’d shoved on some pants and a holster beneath the skirt before they left the house. Smart. Anakin had his attached to his belt. If he let himself hold it now he’s fairly sure he’d do something he’d regret, like stabbing the first stormtrooper they saw. The ship lapsed into silence as the final maglock clicked into place.

The door slid open.

Two troopers entered, blasters aimed at the three of them.

“Weapons,” the one on the left demanded.

None of them moved.

There was a frustrated breath from the right trooper who immediately frisked the three of them. Anakin watched his lightsaber taken with a falsely placid stare. Padmé stared the trooper down the whole time his hand was on her body. He was smart and didn’t linger. Obi-Wan let go of his ‘saber the moment the trooper touched it. The trooper also discovered a small blaster hidden in one of the legs of Obi-Wan’s pants. Anakin resisted smirking.

Then as if summoned, a short man in a fitted black uniform appeared in the doorway.

“They have been disarmed,” the trooper on the right informed him, nodding at the weaponry in his hands.

“Excellent,” the man said primly. “You are expected by the Emperor. Follow me.”

He turned on his heel and stalked from the ship.

Anakin blinked after him, shrugged, and followed, Padmé half a step behind him and Obi-Wan bringing up the rear. As they exited the ship. Anakin was swamped with the familiar feeling of being on a ship of this size, eyeing up the variety of ships on the large landing strip. They also gained some more troopers for additional escort. Five, to be exact, and Anakin almost felt insulted. He watched the trooper from earlier walk off in a different direction with their weapons. That could be an issue. Anakin noticed Obi-Wan cataloguing the movement as well.

They were led through numerous industrial grey corridors and up a series of elevators until they were stopped in front of a set of large doors. Suddenly, all of Anakin’s efforts to remain calm failed him. He felt as though he could shake out of his skin. Emotions of all kinds bubbled to the surface of his mind, swamping him in nervous energy.

The doors opened and they were led into a large, dark room with few windows with a view to the stars and planets beyond. The largest window sat in the middle of the room with a chair and desk placed before it. Currently, the chair was turned away from them. Sidious was watching his empire.

“Your Excellence,” said the man in the black uniform, bowing slightly. “Your guests are here as requested.”

The chair swung around and the hooded robe seated there looked up, golden eyes glimmering from the shadows of the hood. A gaunt hand waved the man away. The officer nodded and exited the room, taking four of the troopers with him, and leaving two behind.

The skeletal hand gracefully pulled the hood from his head and thin lips smiled at them around discoloured teeth. His golden eyes travelled over all three of them.

“Ah, Anakin, my dear boy,” Palpatine said, focusing in on him, with every inch the familiar calm he always had. “How good to see you again.”

Anakin felt his whole body go hot and cold at once. There was an instinctive warm, familiar feeling of seeing the man who he’d seen as a friend and a mentor and a father. Someone he’d trusted. The same voice who’d been so kind to him all those years.

The warm was immediately turned cold and brittle as Anakin’s mind caught up to his body, angry at himself for ever trusting the Sith. Upset that Palpatine had done all of this to him. That it was all Palpatine had wanted from him. He’d wanted to use Anakin. Keep him as his apprentice dog.

Anakin felt his eyes go hard as he glared at Sidious, clinging onto every scrap of knowledge of what this man had done. He wouldn’t fall for it again.

“I wish I could say the same,” Anakin bit out.

Palpatine—Sidious—chuckled. Anakin hated how familiar it all was, and how his mind still longed to accept it as truth.

“Where are my children?” Padmé demanded, taking a step forward. Anakin’s hand shot out on instinct, stopping her forward progression.

Sidious didn’t even twitch to acknowledge her, or Obi-Wan beside her. His golden eyes were fixed on Anakin. He could feel the cold, slimy tendrils of the Sith’s Force presence skirting his shielding. He was trying to find a way in. He had to resist shivering.

Anakin repeated Padmé’s question. “Where are my children?”

Sidious waved a casual hand, looking away. “Perfectly safe, my Apprentice. I’ve become rather attached to them both. Very bright. Just like you.”

Anakin suddenly knew that Sidious wanted his children for their power. He wanted Anakin and he wanted the children.

Anakin passingly noticed the way Obi-Wan bristled beside him, a sharp feeling of anger and possessive protectiveness curling around Anakin.

“I’m not your Apprentice,” Anakin replied sharply.

“Oh but you could be again,” Sidious cut in, turning his bright eyes and sharp smile back on Anakin. “The power to protect those you love is something I’m sure you still believe in.”

Anakin went very, very still.

Sidious grinned again, manic energy in every curve of his mouth. “Join me once again, my young Apprentice. Stand with me by my side, as it was meant to be.”

Anakin was right back where he started.

Sidious held his loved one’s safety in his evil, wrinkled hands.

Anakin _knew_ that if he said no, that Sidious would hurt Padmé and Obi-Wan. This was a man, no, a monster, who had no need to hide behind the fake, cheerful Chancellor of the past. This was a Sith Lord who had no compunction about what he would do to get what he wanted. Obi-Wan might be able to fight him, but Padmé couldn’t. Anakin also knew, without a sliver of doubt, that Sidious would not hesitate to hurt his children to get what he wanted.

Anakin refused to let any of that happen.

He would protect his family.

The last thing he did before he slammed up every shield between himself and Obi-Wan was fling a final thought at his partner.

_Trust me._

Anakin’s body felt heavy as he stepped forward.

One step closer to Sidious.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)))))


	29. Trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter appears! Thank you for all your lovely screams of ‘fuck you’ and ‘how dares’ and the like. I loved them all. I love you all.
> 
> A note: I made a slight edit to last chapter as I realised that Qui-Gon just suddenly evaporates from the story which is not great so I’ve fixed it so that he vanishes on his own after he mentions that Sidious picked up on his presence. This _was_ meant to be there, but I clearly fucking forgot like a dingus. Sorry! Also you may notice the total chapter count has been upped to 31 as looking at the next chapter, I definitely need an epilogue to cover everything I want to so, bonus chapter!
> 
> Once again, eternal thanks to my beta Matlida_Nicki who continues to be amazing at what she does! As always, I am happy for constructive criticism regardless.
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments and I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

“Okay.”

Padmé felt her heart stop. Felt her breath stutter in her chest. Felt her whole world go cold around her. He _couldn’t mean_ —

“I’ll join you, but you can’t hurt them,” Anakin said with fire in his voice.

“Ani!” Padmé cried, taking a step closer. “Don’t—Don’t do it. _Please Ani!_ ”

She felt a hand grasp hers. She looked back to see Obi-Wan clutching her hand, his eyes fixed on Anakin, utterly motionless. He gave a little tug to call her back, but Padmé persisted.

“Then we are agreed,” Sidious said, darkly satisfied.

Anakin began walking forward.

“Anakin!” Padmé pleaded, futilely pulling against Obi-Wan’s grip. His hand was unrelenting around hers, a concrete weight on her arm. She turned on him, yelling, “Obi-Wan, tell him to stop!” She struggled in his hold, desperate to get between Anakin and Sidious. “Obi-Wan! Let go!”

This couldn’t happen again.

She wouldn’t _let it_.

Padmé watched in horror as Anakin knelt before the Emperor, the curve of his back leading up the to twisted visage of the Dark Side. She turned to look at Obi-Wan. He was still standing immobile, his eyes wide and locked on the scene in front of them. Now that she wasn’t fighting him, she could feel the way his hand quaked around hers.

_Something_ passed between Sidious and Anakin; strong enough that she felt it. It felt like…like she imagined a ghost would. Cold and clammy and faintly slimy at the edges. Then, before she could truly process it, the feeling was gone.

Anakin stood and turned, glancing back at the pair of them. A pair of golden eyes watching them, unmoved and unconcerned with their troubles. Anakin’s expression was serene in the face of her worst nightmare.

Padmé’s heart broke all over again.

She took a reflexive step back and clutched Obi-Wan’s hand tighter, hating herself for being scared of her husband. Now that she knew that her husband wasn’t truly in there any more. Now that he was a puppet for a much more frightening puppeteer.

“You won’t get away with this!” Padmé yelled at Sidious. Her voice cracked as she spoke, tears gathering in her eyes as her whole chest felt as though it were being crushed.

For the first time since they entered the room, Sidious’ eyes travelled over Padmé and Obi-Wan. There was nothing in them that she recognised. Nothing of the man she had held in such high esteem for so long. The kind, sensible man who she had worked with was absent from the twisted dictator sitting in front of them now. He looked at them both as though they were nothing. Less than nothing. A nuisance at most.

“Take them away,” Sidious said flatly, his eyes already leaving them.

Padmé felt a blaster poke into her back. She turned a watery glare on the stormtrooper holding it, and stepped closer to Obi-Wan.

Anakin watched in placid silence as they were taken away, already turning back to his master before they had even left the room.

They were walked through hallway after hallway, Padmé gritting her teeth so tightly she was sure her jaw would ache tomorrow. She gripped Obi-Wan’s hand just as hard. She barely noticed where they were, where they went. All she could think about Anakin. Golden eyed and empty. She clenched her jaw tighter, fighting tears, unwilling to lose control in a corridor in front of these stormtroopers.

Then they were in front of a room, the door already open as if to beckon them in. It was small, white,, and lined with two small bunks. The blaster at her back poked her again, directing her into the space, Obi-Wan following just behind.

The door to the cell slid shut behind them; the heavy click of the lock followed by an echoing silence.

Padmé rounded on Obi-Wan, hurt and anger and distress ripping through her mind, warring for her attention.

“Why didn't you stop him!?” Padmé yelled, tears finally cascading down her cheeks, her hands shoving at his chest. “Why didn’t you let me go!? We could have saved him! You did _nothing! Why!”_ Padmé felt her knees go weak beneath her. She staggered back to sit on the bunk behind her, her head curling towards her knees and her hands covering her face.

How could they have ended up _back here_!? Was _everything_ they had done been for nothing!? Everything had been going so _well_ and now here they were, with Luke, Leia, and Anakin in the clutches of the worst man in the galaxy, and Obi-Wan had done _nothing!_ Her heart felt tight and wrung out, her lungs were burning. She never knew how much it could hurt to cry.

Padmé sobbed into her hands feeling utterly betrayed by both Anakin and Obi-Wan.

She felt gentle hands carefully pull her hands away from her face. She tried yanking herself away from him, still furious, but he just waited her out.

“Padmé, please look at me,” Obi-Wan said softly, his voice unsteady but calm. She resisted for a while, still clinging to her anger. Eventually though, she lost her will to fight him. Finally looking up, she could see how agitated he was; his eyes were dark and haunted, and every line around his face screamed anxiety. “I didn’t stop him because he told me to trust him. And I couldn’t let you go because Sidious would have hurt you for getting in the way.”

Padmé felt a few more tears escape her eyes. She sniffed. “He told you to trust him?”

She finally noticed the way Obi-Wan was kneeling on the floor before her, his whole body leaning towards her. He nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks, his eyes staring into hers searchingly. “Through our bond. I’m sorry. I couldn’t say anything. I thought it would be best if Sidious thought it was real; that we believed it was real.” He cupped her cheek, hand trembling, his sweet, beloved face peering up at hers, begging for forgiveness.

Padmé leaned into his hand and took a deep, quivering breath. Gods-damned Force nonsense.

Obi-Wan gave her an empty smile. “We should talk about it more at a later date. For now, we need to find a way out of here and get the twins, and I do not trust that this cell isn’t bugged.” He paused for a moment and said, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Padmé,” his voice breaking on her name.

“I understand,” Padmé said quietly, and then, “I hate it, but I understand.” She took another breath and pasted a wry smile on her face, and tried to lighten the tension. “I expect to talk about it later, my love. Don’t think what’s sure to be a whirlwind rescue of our spouse and children will get you out of that conversation.”

Obi-Wan smiled again, a little less empty this time, and nodded.

Padmé felt her shoulders relax slightly, and she sagged forward into his arms. Yes, she was still angry at him, but she understood. She was also physically and emotionally exhausted and she just wanted someone to hold tight and never let go. Obi-Wan’s arms encircled her as she pressed her face into his neck. She heard his own breath shake as she held him in return. They stayed that way for some time before Padmé found the energy to move away a little.

“What’s your plan?” she asked, her head still on his shoulder while her fingers played with his shirt.

“Wait in here for a little while until the guards outside aren’t so overly excited and vigilant, then break our way out of here,” Obi-Wan replied, his fingers carding through her hair. “Find the twins and our weapons if we can, then get Anakin and run before Sidious finds a creative way to kill us and make it look like an accident.”

“Alright.” Padmé pulled away from Obi-Wan, leaning back against the wall before lifting her legs so her feet were on the edge of the bunk and she could wrap her arms around her knees. Obi-Wan moved to sit on the bunk opposite her, his legs pressed together, leaning forward on his elbows and staring into the floor as if it held all the answers.

They sat in silence for a long while. Or at least it felt like a long while. Long enough that she was no longer completely furious at her partners. Instead, she was back to worrying about her children and now Anakin. Given time to think, she understood why he’d said yes. He’d clearly been trying to protect them all. She just prayed to every god on Naboo that Anakin knew what he was doing.

“Okay, I think it’s been long enough. We should try getting out now,” Obi-Wan said quietly and nodded upward. “One slight problem though; there seems to be a Force dampening field around the cell. I won’t be able to open the door, so if you have any other ideas…?”

Padmé turned and sighted the camera in the top corner of the room facing the door. It certainly looked like it had a microphone. Okay. She could work with that. She threw a casual look at the door. Yes, she could probably manage that as well. She just needed a distraction, and Obi-Wan could help with that.

Padmé turned back to stare at Obi-Wan for a long minute, dragging her eyes over him thoughtfully as she pressed her lips together before nibbling on her lower lip. She made a show of thinking it over before Padmé stood up, crossed the room, and leaned over Obi-Wan.

Her mouth met his for a long kiss before pulling back, stroking her hand down the side of his face. Padmé then leant back in, hiding her face in the crook of Obi-Wan’s neck that was obscured by the camera.

“Follow my lead,” she muttered. “I have an idea. You’re the distraction; make it convincing and then crush the camera when I say.”

Obi-Wan kissed the side of her neck in return, burying his hands in her hair in what seemed like an attempt to cover his mouth. “Can do.”

There was a short span of theatrical ‘oh no, we’re going to die here’ kissing, before Padmé decided they’d been convincing enough for whichever creep was watching their feed.

“Up,” Padmé whispered against his lips, giving him a little tug.

Obi-Wan was quick to follow orders, surging up and wrapping his arms around her, his hands gentle on her waist. Step two completed, Padmé turned them with a few ‘clumsy’ steps so that Obi-Wan’s back was to the wall with the camera on it.

“Back up,” she murmured, giving him a little shove. He did as instructed, watching her as he moved back into the wall. Padmé pinned him with her best fake ‘ _I want you_ ’ stare before she hurled herself at him, banging her hands _hard_ on the wall on either side of Obi-Wan’s head.

“Now.”

Padmé heard the metallic crunch of the camera splintering above them.

She stepped back. “Good. They might think it’s a malfunction for at least a few minutes,” she said, already turning and digging the clip from her hair.

“What are you—?”

“Multi-purpose clip,” Padmé said, holding the little piece of metal up. “Keep an ear out, would you?”

She’d thought Anakin was being a little paranoid when he’d trained her how to escape with nothing but her hair clips. They’d been a gift from him. To be fair, she’d started with a nice little set of eight, and over the course of the war ended up with only three. So, really, it was a practical gift and spot on intuition on Anakin’s part.

Padmé knelt in front of the door, using the flat of the clip to undo four key bolts on the door. Once removed, the panel came off easily, Padmé placing it by her knee. She dug through the wires, carefully searching through some more delicate and electrified machinery to find the one line she was after. Padmé hummed triumphantly as she found the little black wire (black for Republic ships, orange for Separatist). In a slow, careful movement, she extracted the wire, which thankfully had some extra length in it, then swiftly cut it on the sharp side of the clip and let go.

The result was instantaneous: the door swished open, Padmé stood up, grabbed Obi-Wan’s hand, and the two of them ran from the room.

Padmé heard a shout sound ahead of them and the familiar clacking of stormtrooper armour as blasters were raised toward them. Obi-Wan took the lead and with quick use of the Force, shoved each blaster into the face of its owner, knocking the five troopers out cold.

They leapt over the prone bodies, rapidly grabbing a blaster each. They crossed the room and Obi-Wan hit a button to call a lift. It arrived quickly and thankfully empty and they climbed in.

“Where to?” Padmé asked.

There was another crunch as the camera in the elevator mysteriously broke.

“Down.” He hit a low number on the dial-pad.

Padmé nodded and clutched the blaster to her chest, ready at any moment to lower it if the door opened. Padmé tucked herself closely against Obi-Wan’s side and she felt his empty hand wrap about her waist. She was torn between shoving it off and curling in closer. It was nothing against him, personally, really, but Padmé had returned to feeling wound up near to explosion and touch just seemed so much right now. On the other hand, the affection was appreciated.

Their luck continued to hold as they reached their destination without interruption. The doors opened to a long, empty corridor. Obi-Wan clasped Padmé’s hand and led her along behind him. While the touch still pulled her in two entirely different directions, it meant she could walk while constantly watching the halls behind them. They paused on occasion to hide or wait for a patrol to pass.

“You know these corridors way too well,” Padmé commented as she was confidently dragged around another corner.

“They haven’t drastically changed the Star Destroyer design from when I commanded the _Negotiator_. It’s definitely bigger, but the basic design is similar enough,” Obi-Wan explained. “I’m trying to find us somewhere out of the way to hole up for a while.” He suddenly stopped and Padmé bumped into him.

“We’re going down.”

Padmé looked past him into…a pit.

“Seriously?” Padmé asked, looking down the long drop, her stomach doing very unhappy flips.

“It’ll be harder for them to find us.”

Padmé sighed, “I hate you,” but firmed her grip on his hand. “ _How_ are we getting down?”

“Climbing.”

Padmé made a grumpy sound in the back of her throat.

Obi-Wan smiled and pulled her up next to him. “We’re not going far.” He leant over the edge a short ways and pointed to a hatch. “Just to there. It should connect to the whole ventilation system.”

Padmé sighed, spotting the hatch. “Alright. You first though.”

“Of course.”

Padmé stood watch holding both blasters as Obi-Wan disappeared over the edge. She kept half an eye on where he placed his hands and feet into holds for when she had to go down, but mostly kept her eyes on the surrounding corridors. The area remained thankfully empty, and Padmé was relieved when she heard a whistle. Her turn. Padmé dropped the blasters over the edge and watched as the Force caught them and brought them into the hatch. Padmé then, with a final glance around the room, began her descent.

Her heart attempted to hammer right out of her chest the whole way down, the journey feeling much, much longer than it actually was. Every time she released her foot and went searching for a new grip, her mouth went dry as her stomach protested. Not even slightly soon enough, she reached the hatch, Obi-Wan taking her hands and doing his best to haul her in.

He returned her blaster to her in silence and the pair began crawling down the tunnel ahead of them. There were a few twists and turns through the small vent, a breeze flowing into her face as they went. Eventually, they found themselves in a more open area of the vents where five tunnels met. The space wasn’t particularly large, but they could sit without hitting their heads on the ceiling. Standing, however, was definitely out. There was a tunnel in the centre of the room leading straight up, the wind coming from there before being funnelled down the other ventilation shafts.

Obi-Wan settled himself against one of the walls, one hand rubbing at his forehead.

Padmé took a deep breath. “What the hell happened, Obi-Wan?”

“I assume you mean in regards to Anakin?”

“Yes. Obviously,” Padmé said. “Is he…did he really?”

“I _think_ he’s playing along for Sidious,” Obi-Wan replied. “He told me to trust him though our bond before he shut me out and agreed to return to the Sith.”

Padmé curled in on herself, wrapping her arms around her legs. “How do we know Sidious doesn’t have control again?”

Obi-Wan sighed. He looked exhausted. “We don’t. We have to trust Anakin to know what he’s doing. He’s maintained the block on our bond, so I don’t know anything else just now. At least we can take comfort in the fact that Luke and Leia are safe.”

Padmé frowned. “How do you figure that?”

“Well, for two reasons,” Obi-Wan began. “One, he’ll keep them around to keep Anakin in line; we are expendable, and I would honestly bet my life that his first plan was to have us conveniently murdered. Then, if he manages to kill us both, Sidious will likely feel very confident that Anakin would stay with him to keep the twins safe regardless, which both removes us from being a major interference while keeping Anakin under his thumb—”

“Well, he’s got Anakin pegged there,” Padmé murmured. Anakin would be furious and distraught if anything happened to them, but he would also do anything to keep Luke and Leia safe.

“—and two, he’ll want to keep them and raise them as Sith. They’re both going to be easily as strong as their father which, from the perspective of the first Sith Lord to finally take down the Jedi, is a Force-damned gift to rebuild on.”

Padmé growled. “He’s not fucking having them, and he’s not having Anakin.”

“No,” Obi-Wan agreed.

“We have to find the twins,” Padmé said finally. “We need to start looking.”

“We need a plan first, and we need to rest.”

Padmé just stared at him.

“We’ve been awake for about twelve hours already, and this isn’t going to be easy, Padmé,” Obi-Wan said. “Why don’t you have a nap, and we can go on from there?”

“You too?”

He looked at her sadly. “If I go to sleep all the shielding I’m doing to hide us won’t work and Sidious will find us very quickly.”

She examined him seriously.

“Don’t worry Padmé, it doesn’t take that much effort. It just takes some focus which sleep doesn’t allow.”

“Fine,” Padmé agreed, “but don’t let me sleep too long.”

He smiled. “I won’t.”

* * *

Obi-Wan was a complete and utter liar.

Padmé woke up feeling fine, which was her first indicator that he was the absolute worst.

“How long?” Padmé asked flatly.

“No idea. There are no clocks in here.”

She punched him weakly. “Liar.”

He just hummed noncommittally. “Regardless,” he began, _clearly_ deflecting, “I think I’ve come up with a plan.”

“Fine. Let’s hear it then.”

Obi-Wan’s plan essentially comprised of stealing some stormtrooper armour and patrolling the ship until they heard something useful or managed to break into somewhere that could tell them more, like a security room. Obi-Wan admitted it wasn’t the best plan, but given they were in enemy territory with no idea where to even start looking for their kids, it was the plan that kept them the most hidden while also giving them the most free reign over the ship. Padmé recognised that it was their best bet right now and she was ready to do just about anything to get Luke and Leia back.

“Could we not get Qui-Gon to help again?” Padmé had asked. hoping for an easier and quicker solution.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “He couldn’t find the twins last time, and I’m fairly certain Anakin will be able to feel it if I summon him like I did in Jabba’s palace.”

“Damn.”

They set their plan that was 50% costuming and 50% sheer hope into motion. The two of them spent a good couple of hours stealthily crawling through ventilation shafts, searching for a room of any kind with stormtrooper armour. Finally, they found a storage closet filled with all the things they needed. Padmé was surprised to find anything that fit her, but was pleased when she found something that she wasn’t swimming in. She shimmied her skirt into a position that was comfortable and didn’t bulge anywhere odd, very glad that she’d made the decision to throw on some pants before they’d left the farm. Obi-Wan made the uniform look rather dashing with the helmet off. The handsome git.

Dressed and fitted with a regulation appropriate blaster, the two of them set off down the corridors. It took them a couple of minutes to get their steps in time with one another, Obi-Wan having to slow himself down a bit due to Padmé’s shorter legs, but once they had it, they were set.

They learnt many pieces of information in their wanderings of the Star Destroyers halls. They lurked in rec-rooms, they hung around offices, they joined in on ‘street-corner’ chats and just generally got around wherever they could. The things they learned during their tours included: which cook to chat up to get the best portion, the details of just _so_ many illicit affairs, a drug smuggling ring in the ammunitions division, the time and place to be for a discreet fight, that a stormtrooper named Lorie had smuggled a Loth-cat on board and that if you were nice to her, you could go visit it, and that the Emperor’s new bodyguard, Vader, had been seen stalking the halls barking orders and tearing the ship apart on the Emperor’s orders, trying to find their escaped prisoners. Padmé was very glad that their path’s didn’t cross; she wasn’t sure she could take seeing Anakin like that just now. They heard absolutely nothing about the twins and with every hour that passed, Padmé could feel her heart sinking further into her stomach. She’d being doing her best to keep a positive attitude, but Obi-Wan’s shoulders had been visibly sinking in time with her heart, and it was terribly disheartening.

“Oi,” a voice called from the hallway. Padmé looked over to see another stormtrooper making their way down a different corridor, waving at them cordially. “Shift’s done. Dinner’s up.” They kept walking.

Padmé was suddenly struck that they hadn’t eaten in hours and that would probably explain why she had a headache and her hands were shaking. Well, partly explain. The other part was definitely stress.

“Shall we?” Padmé asked, looking up at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan nodded. “We can eat _and_ listen to stormtrooper gossip en masse.”

Padmé smiled, muttering, “Maybe we can find Lorie and go pet her Loth-cat.”

Obi-Wan chuckled and the two of them followed after the trooper that had yelled.

When they reached the mess hall Padmé was relieved to see other female stormtroopers with hair cuts similar to hers. She had been concerned that the moment she removed her helmet to eat she was going to very obviously stick out. Thankfully, from the looks of things, shorter hair seemed to be the more sensible option for the helmets.

Padmé followed Obi-Wan in the queue of troopers waiting in line for food. The gossip in the line continued to be utterly inane and highly disappointing.

As Padmé looked around the room she was very suddenly stuck with total understanding. She’d thought she’d understood it before, but surrounded by a group of that she was now a part of who all looked _identical_ on the outside, Padmé empathised with the clone troopers who had all decorated their armour, hair, and skin. There was none of that individuality here, except that now they had their helmets off and they were eating at a table, there was; they weren’t people, and yet they were. They were a set of armour hiding real people underneath. Somehow knowing that all these stormtroopers were also individuals made her skin crawl oddly. It was so much easier to just think of them as her enemy. In reality, most if not all of them probably didn’t give half a damn as to what was going on upstairs. They likely didn’t even know that Sidious had her family hostage.

Then there was a tray in her hands and food being slopped (mostly) into the bowl. A piece of bread and a carton of some sort of beverage was tossed on, and the two of them were sent on their way.

Obi-Wan seemed determined on their course, zig-zagging them though the tables to a couple of empty seats against the far wall. Padmé could only hope that they would blend in. They sat down and removed their helmets, Obi-Wan shooting her a brief and covert smile before tucking into the food.

“ _Should we have split up?”_ Padmé asked in a hush, falling into Twi’leki for safety. They’d started doing it earlier when they’d wanted to be discreet and worked out a common language they shared but wasn’t widely used in the galaxy.

Obi-Wan swallowed the food and shook his head. “ _We might have learnt more, but it’s too dangerous._ ”

That was fair. Padmé put a spoonful of whatever this was in her mouth. And, okay, now that it was in her mouth she still didn’t know what it was and very much regretted putting it there. She chewed and swallowed anyway. Padmé was hungry and it was…sustenance.

“We had two Jedi come in today,” came a voice a few tables down to their left, voice set in the age-old tone of ‘I have _the best_ gossip right now’. Padmé was certain she only caught it as other tables nearby quieted down to hear more.

There were friendly calls of ‘bullshit’ and ‘prove it’.

“No! Really!” The trooper continued. “I got to search ‘em! Touched _two_ lightsabers.”

“You did _not!”_ another trooper yelled.

“I did!” he argued back. “Turned one on and everything, just to see if it was real and _it was_.”

He stood up, plastic fork grasped in both hands and made a buzzing sound with his lips. He modulated the sound up and down as he swung the fork around, mimicking the sound of a lightsaber. He did some fancy spins, tossing the fork into the air at one point, and catching it again, mouth buzzing all the while.

There was raucous laughter from the tables all around them, as troopers turned to watch the man swing his fork around seriously. Another trooper from that table suddenly stood, fork in hand, and copied his friends movement, the two launching into a mock lightsaber battle across the table of food. It got a little out of hand as the first trooper began climbing the chair, still swinging wildly at his friend.

Padmé couldn’t resist laughing along with everyone else. Obi-Wan had his hand over his mouth, clearly trying not to laugh.

The laughter suddenly stopped and the troopers sat down as an officer passed the table shooting the trooper and his friends a glare of deep disappointment.

“ _Well there’s someone to track down later,_ ” Obi-Wan muttered. “ _Now we just need someone to slip up about the twins._ ”

Padmé felt eyes on them.

Trying to be subtle, she glanced around the tables, trying to find the source of her discomfort.

Brown eyes met hers. A familiar face, one of millions. This one with a jagged scar running from his left temple halfway down his cheek, just missing his eye. Padmé felt her eyes widen a tiny bit, trying to reign in her surprise. Trying not to give them away.

Padmé knew that she knew him, she just couldn’t place why. Was he one of Anakin’s men? She’d met a lot of them, though not all…

Then the ex-clone trooper was up from his seat and moving toward them at a casual pace. Obi-Wan caught his eye as he neared their table and froze, his blue-green eyes tracking the man. The trooper took a seat opposite them, recently vacated by another nameless trooper. None of them said anything, the clone staring past them, with a brief glance at their food. He was waiting for them to eat.

Padmé and Obi-Wan did so, finishing their meals while keeping half an ear out for gossip thought Obi-Wan’s eyes kept flicking back to the clone trooper. The moment they swallowed the last mouthful of food, the trooper nodded towards the door, stood up, pulled his helmet on, and walked out the way he had indicated.

“ _Shall we?_ ” Padmé asked.

Obi-Wan shrugged.

This felt like a huge gamble, but the man hadn’t turned them in yet.

Padmé and Obi-Wan put their helmets back on, bussed their trays, and followed after him. He’d clearly been waiting by the door and fell into step with the two of them as they marched down the hall.

“Follow me,” came the modulated voice.

He didn’t take them far. A few corridors down and a concealed staircase later found them in a small recreation room. The room was empty, only filled with a few couches and scattered with pieces of armour. The clone took them to a set of couches on the far side and sat down.

“I was wondering what this high alert has been about today,” he said conversationally, but quiet enough to not let his voice carry. He set his helmet on the low table between them. “All this talk of Jedi.”

Obi-Wan smiled as he removed his own helmet, Padmé doing the same. “It’s good to see you again, Cody.”

Cody…oh! Obi-Wan’s commander. She knew she’d met him before.

Cody gave him a dry smile. “Even after how we parted?”

“Well,” Obi-Wan began, “you did _miss_.”

Cody rolled his eyes.

“Also, having a chip in your head that you can’t resist rather changes my perspective on the whole thing,” Obi-Wan said gently.

Cody sighed. “Yeah.” There was a pause. “So what in the karking hells are you doing _here_? With Senator Amidala, no less.”

Obi-Wan launched into very brief summary of the past few years and their recent situation, Padmé adding in bits and pieces as needed. Cody listened with a stoic gaze, the seriousness only cracking at the mention of Rex, Jesse, Kix, and Wolffe, his eyes softening a little.  

At the end of the tale, Cody leant back with crossed arms and muttered, “It looks like you’ve gotten yourselves into a right situation. Again.” He sighed. “What can I do?”

Obi-Wan just blinked at him. “I’m sorry?”

“I hate this place and have been looking for an out for the past year and a half—my chip was _particularly_ strong—so, whatever you need? I’m in,” Cody said, staring the two of them down. “Also, there’s more of us disgruntled clones around, so I can pull them in too. What needs doing?”

Obi-Wan’s face melted into utter fondness. “I’ve missed you, Cody.”

“Yeah. Well.” Cody couldn’t meet his friend’s face. Padmé could feel herself smiling.

Suddenly, there was a loud chorus stomping of feet as five stormtroopers came skidding into the room, quickly fixing on the three of them.

“I don’t fucking believe it,” came the first familiar voice, the helmet coming off to reveal another ex-clone trooper. This one had hair of a similar length to hers. “I _didn’t_ believe it when Sinker said he’d seen you.”

“Wooley,” Obi-Wan said with a smile, turning to greet the new comers. “Who else do we have?”

The helmets were off in a flash. Padmé examined them all but had no names for any of them, so she watched Obi-Wan take them in.

“How good’s your memory, sir?” Wooley asked with a grin as all five of them sat down around the other chairs, quickly filling up the rest of the space.

“Let’s test it,” Obi-Wan said, smiling at him. “And there’s no need to call me sir. We’re all stormtroopers here.” Obi-Wan gestured at his stolen uniform, garnering a few chuckles from the crowd. “Appo I can pick out quickly,” he said with a nod to the trooper who had made no changes to what Padmé considered the most common clone appearance; no tattoos, no hair colouring, and no fancy haircuts, just a sensible close shave. Appo nodded, a small smile at the edge of his mouth. “Razor from the 187th?” Obi-Wan asked, looking at the trooper with the completely shaved head and a hint of a tattoo peeking from the neck of his uniform.

“Correct.”

Then Obi-Wan paused on the last two. “Now I know you’re Wolfpack and that one of you is Boost and one of you is Sinker, but I’d be guessing to pick which was which.”

“I’m Sinker,” said the trooper with short, bleached hair, who then nodded at the other, his hair shaved into two long stripes along his head, coloured a faded red. “That’s Boost.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Well, I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that Wolffe and Plo are alive and well then.”

A vibrant grin lit up both faces.

“So who’s this then?” Boost asked, nodding at Padmé.

There was a solid _thwack_ as Sinker’s hand connected with the back of Boost’s head. “That’s Senator Amidala you _idiot_. Sorry Senator, Boost can’t read, so he never read all those excellent articles you wrote.”

“You’re such a fucking liar,” Boost mumbled, rubbing his head.

Sinker rolled his eyes at his friend. “Boost, we were forced to fake her death. How could you forget that?”

“Oh. Was that her?”

“Yes!” he hissed in frustration.

Padmé was left with nothing left to do but laugh. It felt good after the nightmare of the past few days.

They had to _again_ appraise the group of the happenings of the past five years, unfortunately including the whole ‘Sidious being in Anakin’s head’ thing. Of course, given what Sidious had done to all the clones, they were very sympathetic. All of the group was excited that Rex, Jesse, Kix, and Wolffe managed to get out, Appo in particular was excited to hear that Ahsoka was okay. There was some brief deviation into what the troopers had been doing in the past four years. The story was generally the same; they’d been forced to do whatever they were told while the chips were active, and eventually the chips wore down and they were flung back into autonomy. This tended to happen around six months to a year after the Purge although Appo’s had stayed active for a good two years, while Cody had it the worst, his chip taking three to degrade fully. The six of them had slowly flocked to one another, none of the other stormtroopers wanting to interact with mentally unstable relics of the past. The six had been slowly putting together a plan to get out, and had been waiting on a good opportunity, but given that they were all often (purposefully) overlooked for away missions, it made things tricker.

Padmé and Obi-Wan walked Cody and the others through more of the detailed issues in their situation. They needed to a) find and b) rescue the twins, to somehow get Anakin away from Sidious, then if possible, get the lightsabers back, and finally, get the kriff out before Sidious caught on to any of it.

Cody nodded solely through the whole discussion, his lips pressed together and eyes narrowed while the other five sat in various states of concentration.

“I can tail Skywalker,” Appo said immediately after, sitting a little straighter in his chair. “I got assigned to report to ‘Vader’ with a few others in about an hour.”

“We can look into where the twins are,” Boost said, nudging Sinker. “We have access to the security rooms and can probably manage to swap a shift so that it’s just the two of us while we check the feeds.”

“I know the guy who took your ‘sabers,” Wooley said. “I can follow that up.”

“That leaves myself and Razor to get us a ship,” Cody said, “and then we can look for the twins when Boost and Sinker have more of an idea of _where_ to look.”

Razor nodded at him.

“What would you like us to do?” Padmé asked.

“Nothing.” Cody said plainly. “I think the best thing we can do with you both is to put you in a room somewhere so you don’t make a nuisance of yourselves.”

Padmé bristled, but quickly felt a hand cover hers. “He’s talking to me, Padmé. Don’t worry,” Obi-Wan murmured to her.

“The more time we can keep you off the Emperor’s radar, more time for us to work everything out,” Cody said, standing up. “You can stay in my bunk. Besides, you both look like shit.”

Padmé cast a sideways glance at Obi-Wan. He really did look exhausted. She was at least running on the power of a solid nap. He was not, and he could not until they were off this ship. She desperately wanted to be _doing something,_ needed to be contributing in some way to get her kids back, but right now, Obi-Wan was doing his best to keep them hidden and it was clearly wearing him down. Padmé resolved that the best thing she could do right now was help him rest, at least a little.

Padmé nodded at Cody.

They thanked the others profusely, Padmé pulling each of them into a hug. Obi-Wan did the same, with Wooley pulling him in for a especially long embrace with many manly pats on the back.

“Let him go, Wooley. We’ve got a mission to carry out,” Cody said with a long suffering sigh.

“Yes, _Commander_.”

Then they donned their helmets and followed Cody down to his quarters.

Cody’s room was a sparse barrack, decorated only by his old Clone Trooper helmet, covered in 212th gold and a scattering of souvenirs and trinkets. Otherwise there was a bed, a small table, and a cupboard.

“Stay,” Cody said for a final time, fixing Obi-Wan with a look. Obi-Wan nodded back.

“And look,” Padmé said, taking a deep breath and looking deeply into Cody’s eyes. “If you manage to get the twins and for whatever reason…not us. Just go. Head to Alderaan and find Bail Organa. He’ll help you.”

Cody nodded seriously. “Yes ma’am.”

At that, the trooper marched from the room, the door swishing shut behind him.

The pair crawled out of the stormtrooper uniforms, Padmé loathe to be unnecessarily uncomfortable for however long they would be stuck in this room, and Obi-Wan seeming to just follow suit. The uniform just felt so claustrophobic, and the last thing either of them needed right now was more stress.

“I hate this plan,” Padmé muttered, dropping to sit on the edge of the bed when she was back to wearing only her own clothes. “I feel so useless.”

Obi-Wan sat beside her. “Cody is right though. The longer were can stay undetected the better our odds are.”

There was a long pause. Padmé shifted to sit further on the bed so her back was pressed up against the wall. She toed off her boots and brought her feet up to her bottom, wrapping her arms around her legs. “You seemed happy to see Cody again?” she asked, voice somewhat muffled by her knees.

Obi-Wan shuffled back as well, leaning against the wall but keeping his legs straight with his feet hanging over the edge. “Yes,” he said, leaning his head towards Padmé. She followed the movement and leant back into him, shuffling a little so their shoulders touched. “I had always wondered what had happened to him. We were…friends. At least I liked to think so. It’s hard to say when someone is directly under your command.”

Padmé hummed thoughtfully. “I think he seemed happy to see you.”

They lapsed into a long period of silence.

Padmé’s mind ran over the last…Gods knew how long it had been…24 hours? More? Less? since the twins had gone missing. Her thoughts replaying over and over like a corrupted holotape, starting from their lovely afternoon out to the oasis, all the way through to being stuck in this room. She was just so very exhausted. Emotionally, physically, spiritually; you name it and Padmé was just utterly beyond it. She was worried for her babies and she was worried for her husband. Her mind dragged over another memory of the day, catching on one particular detail.

“So I think we should talk about Anakin,” Padmé said softly, staring at the ceiling, “and the whole slavery thing.”

She heard Obi-Wan shift beside her. “You mean about Anakin and his friend’s secret enterprise?”

Padmé breathed out. “Yeah. That.”

Obi-Wan was silent.

“I just,” Padmé began, unable to hold it all in, “I _get it,_ but I’m just, so angry that he lied.” She took a breath, ordering her thoughts. “And I’m angry at myself because I _would_ have told him to stop. Anakin was right in that. I would have argued that it was too dangerous and that it put everything at risk. But…so is the work we do for the rebellion, and that’s _directly_ going against the Empire. All Anakin _would_ have done was piss of Jabba and we all saw how easily that problem was dealt with.” Padmé sighed. “I just…feel terrible. Anakin was completely right, I did always wave the problem away. I just hate the secrecy.” She rubbed a hand over her face. Padmé felt so Gods-damned tired. Now that they’d stopped again, her whole body felt heavy and all she desired was to curl up on this bed and sleep. She wished that she could fall asleep and somehow magically wake up from this nightmare.

“I think we both often forget that the first nine years of Anakin’s life were in slavery,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “I should have accounted for it more in his training. I think ignoring it and hoping it would just…go away with time was a kriffing stupid choice on mine and the Council’s behalf. We also should have listened to him about it, even if we were so tied to the Senate.” He sighed. “I don’t know how we could have gotten it all so wrong. We were supposed to be the good guys.”

Padmé could sympathise with that.

“It’s really the last thing he said that struck me the most,” Obi-Wan murmured. “That he was finally doing something good.”

Padmé let out a long sigh. “Yeah.”

Anakin’s self esteem had never been amazing, and it had really dropped to sub-zero after the whole Vader incident. Afterward, Anakin had taken a long look at who he was becoming and had been horrified. They didn’t discuss it often, the topic clearly paining Anakin when they did, but Padmé had always tried to push the fact that Palpatine had been forcing him in that direction. That an esteemed friend in a very real position of power had been sowing seeds of doubt and mistrust in his head for years. Anakin did seem to understand that, but Padmé could see how he still blamed himself. How he second-guessed a lot of his past and the decisions he had made.

Anakin _was_ a good person, Padmé knew that with all her heart, but Anakin just had such trouble seeing it and she didn’t know how to fix it.

He’d perked up in the past few years, Padmé attributing his renewed confidence to rebuilding his and Obi-Wan’s relationship, raising their children, and then training up the Padawans. Now, she could see how his work with freeing the slaves of Tatooine probably played a much larger part than she ever knew.

“We should discuss it with him when this is all over,” Padmé said finally.

Obi-Wan nodded.

The two of them chatted inanely for hours, from topics ranging from the rebellion, to Obi-Wan telling Padmé everything he knew about their new clone friends, to Padmé reciting any and all legal passages she could remember. Both of them searching for something to do, trying their hardest not to focus on the utter disaster that was their life. Padmé did her utmost to try not to think about the twins. Her chest twisted painfully every time she did, and right now that wasn’t particularly productive.

Cody popped in at one point to update them on what was happening. Wooley had apparently found their weapons and was just working out how to get them without being noticed. Appo was doing as he’d promised and was tailing Vader around the ship, apparently spending the majority of his time looking for them or doing whatever bidding Sidious had for him.  Boost and Sinker had a promising lead on the twins, while Cody and Razor already had a ship ready to go, now just waiting on orders from the Wolfpack on where to go to retrieve the twins. Cody was at least able to tell them that Luke and Leia were definitely on the ship and being looked after, they just didn’t quite have the location. That last part helped loosen the vice in her chest. It was one thing for Obi-Wan to be fairly certain that they’d okay, even if it was for grooming purposes, and another to hear it from Cody.

Padmé was going to destroy anyone who had touched her children and she would not regret it for a single moment.

Finally, they had sunk so deeply onto the bed that Padmé was fairly certain that they both resembled more puddle than human. Padmé had to assume they’d been stuck in this tiny room for at least seven hours. She’d quite honestly lost track of the passage of time a while back along with the ability to feel something other than anxiety.

“Why don’t you have’a sleep,” Obi-Wan suggested, his words starting to slip around the edges. “You seem tired.”

“Darling, what about you?” Padmé asked staring at the side of his head. “You _can’t_ keep this up forever. We know what happened last time you tried. I hate seeing you do this to yourself.”

Obi-Wan turned his head a that, a light smile playing on his lips. Padmé couldn’t help it. She leant up and caught his lips in hers. Padmé closed her eyes, leaning into the feeling, trying to find some semblance of warmth. She felt his hand brush along her cheek, his hand firm yet gentle. His thumb stroked her face lazily.

“I’m going to meditate,” Obi-Wan said as he pulled back. “It’s the best I can…um…manage.

Padmé felt her eyebrows crease in concern, fixing him with her most worried stare.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“There’s nothing else to be done.”

Padmé let out a long breath. “I know.”

She closed her eyes.

* * *

“Padmé we have to go.” A hand was gripping her, tugging her up form the bed.

“Obi-Wan—? What—?” she tried, her mind fuzzy with sleep, trying to work out what in the hell was going on.

“I messed up. I fell asleep,” the voice continued, voice tight and shaky. His hand was still tugging on hers. “Sidious knows where we are. I felt him. We have to go.”

At the Sith’s name, Padmé was immediately awake, springing up from the bed. Obi-Wan had her out the door and running down the halls before she even realised she was just in her socks, her shoes abandoned in Cody’s quarters.

“Where are we going?” Padmé asked in between breaths as they ran.

“Anywhere. As far away as we can from there.”

Padmé couldn’t tell if this was a legitimate fear that Obi-Wan had, or if he’d finally lost his grip after so long without sleep. They were not exactly being subtle. They’d passed a few collections of stormtroopers who had seen them pass, calling out for them to halt. Thankfully, stormtroopers in full armour were nowhere near as fast as the two of them, even if Padmé’s feet did keep slipping on the floor.

Finally, Obi-Wan pulled them to a stop, burrowing into a small alcove in an obscure, dead end corridor. They held each other’s arms, panting heavily as they caught their breath. Padmé’s lungs were burning and her shoulder twinged at being pulled along.

“Where to next?” Padmé asked breathily.

“I was thinking—”

“There you are.” Vader was suddenly there in the corridor with them, a swirling cloud of black robes. “You hid yourselves pretty well, but now I’ve found you,” he said, with a lilt to his voice that Padmé felt as a cold hand around her heart. The crooked smile was so deeply unsettling on Anakin’s face. His eyes still glowed golden in the dim light and Padmé felt herself take a step back, Obi-Wan stepping in front of her.

Half a moment later and stormtroopers swarmed around Vader, their blasters pointed directly at the two of them. A quick glance at Obi-Wan and the minute shake of his head spoke volumes about their chances of getting out of this.

“Come,” Vader said, his voice flat as his eyes flicked over them both. “My Master desires to see you.”

Padmé cursed the galaxy as they were led back up through the ship to Palpatine’s chamber.

They were right back where they kriffing started.

At the very least, if something happened to them, Padmé felt confident that Cody and the others would get the twins off the ship and to safety. Bail would look after them. She trusted him. Padmé held that comfort close to her heart as they were led back through the ship.

Then, while they were in an elevator heading upwards, Padmé felt a metallic weight being pressed into the hands from the trooper behind her. Her eyes flickered downwards for a moment, and yes, that was _her_ blaster. Padmé resisted whispering thank you, just inclining her head a small amount in thanks. She noted Obi-Wan discreetly hiding his lightsaber up his sleeve.

She was not going to question how they’d managed this, but she wasn’t going to turn down the help. She carefully returned her blaster to the holster beneath her skirt.

They were ready, come what may.


	30. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still on a goddamn roll my dudes! THIS IS THE SECOND LAST CHAPTER WHAT THE FUCK? How??? Thank you for the continued screams left in my inbox last week, I love you all so much. I don't know how long the next chapter will take, I'm hoping it will be an easy week again, but I have a feeling that it might be a long one soooooo ?
> 
> Once again, all my love to my beta Matlida_Nicki who is amazing at what she does! As always, I am happy for constructive criticism regardless.
> 
> ALSO HUGE SHOUT OUT: FoxKoma14 made an amazing Spotify playlist for this fic, so if you are interested, you can check it out [HERE](https://open.spotify.com/user/se7enth.delta/playlist/4WeeSNloTshUkrxjqxNPH9?si=GSlk721hSA6GPXB9R_d-pQ). There's also specific links between each song and the fic (!!!), so if you also want to know what they are, the comment FoxKorma14 made is on the second page of ch29's comments :) Thank you again! I love!
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments and I hope you enjoy the (second last) chapter!

Obi-Wan was exhausted. He was feeling a little better after his accidental nap and the excellent adrenaline rush he’d acquired from their desperate run through the Star Destroyer’s halls. The rush had continued upon Vader finding them and dragging them back up to Sidious’ chambers.

Obi-Wan had seen flashes of Sidious in Vader’s eyes when he’d approached them, his Force signature doing strange and discomforting things to the Force around them. Obi-Wan had absolutely no idea how much of Anakin was himself and how much was Sidious and it made his heart tight.

Then he’d felt his lightsaber being pressed into his hands by the stormtrooper behind him and his heart had swelled with hope and determination. He didn’t exactly feel confident about his chances against Palpatine, but it was better than nothing, and Obi-Wan was prepared to do just about anything to remove the Sith from their lives.

He took deep breath.

The doors to Sidious’ chambers opened and Obi-Wan and Padmé followed Vader into the room, three troopers at their backs. Vader walked over to where Darth Sidious sat at his desk, moving past the man so that he stood behind the Sith, just to his left, just like a good apprentice should. Obi-Wan clenched his teeth.

Obi-Wan and Padmé were marched to stand where they had on their first visit to the room, with a view to the stars before them, just beyond Sidious and Vader.

“Leave us,” Sidious said, looking up and waving the stormtroopers away.

The three stormtroopers at their backs raised their blasters, Obi-Wan turning his head just enough to see the three of them levelling them at Darth Sidious.

“No,” the one of the right said, the familiar voice coming out distorted by the helmet.

Sidious’ face contorted into a parody of a smile, all twisted lips and dead eyes. Obi-Wan felt his blood run cold.

“ _No_?”

The three troopers remained in determined silence, blasters still pointed at the Emperor.

Sidious curled his lip up, baring his teeth. “ _Freeze,_ ” he said with a strong ripple of suggestion ploughing through the Force. He watched in dismay as the three clones went completely motionless behind them. The suggestion had been so strong that Padmé had frozen and then twitched back into motion. He was so glad they’d taught her at least basic shielding.

“Now, what to do with so many traitors?” the Sith mused, turning to Anakin. “Lord Vader, what do you suggest?”

Vader’s eyes flickered over to Sidious. “I’m sure whatever my Master thinks appropriate will do,” he said flatly.

The Emperor looked terribly smug at that statement, his gaze holding Obi-Wan’s. Obi-Wan refused to rise to the bait. He was going to hold until he had a better tactical advantage. He had to do this right. They were all dead if he messed this up.

Once chance.

“Nothing to say, _Negotiator?_ ” Sidious asked with a snarl, standing from behind his desk and stalking over to the five of them. “ _Senator_? Usually the two of you are so very verbose.”

“I want my family back,” Padmé said, staring into the Emperor’s glowing eyes.

Sidious was grinning again, standing within touching distance. “But your family is right here, with me,” he purred, his wrinkled hand and rotting nails gesturing to where Vader stood, still behind the desk. “Your husband and your children are in my capable hands. Or should I say, my apprentice’s?”

Padmé raised and swung her hand so quickly, she nearly managed to make contact with the sunken face before them. Sidious was faster. His hand was up, Force presence filling the room like a thick oil around them, holding Padmé in place, her hand still raised to strike him.

“Ah, Lord Vader,” Sidious said sadly, “did I not tell you that they would not join us? And now your darling wife has attempted to harm her Emperor.” His voice lost its false amiability, falling to a low gravelly drawl. “What a terrible mistake.”

Faster than Obi-Wan could respond to, Sidious waved his hand and Padmé went sprawling across the floor, her body hitting the ground with a sharp slap. Obi-Wan made to move toward her, but the _snap-hiss_ of a red lightsaber between him and Padmé forced him to stop.

Obi-Wan glanced at Vader, still just behind the desk. His jaw was shut tightly, and his gaze was locked on Padmé, his eyes tinged with a blue that hadn’t been present earlier. Obi-Wan could still see the occasional flash of gold rolling to the surface like a bubbling pot. Anakin’s eyes flicked to Sidious, and then back to Obi-Wan before he casually brought a hand to his lips and curled an invisible moustache.

 _Attack_.

Obi-Wan smiled, a bright, burning smile, drawing Sidious’ attention away from Padmé.

He dropped the ‘saber he had hidden in his sleeve, grasped it in his hand, and ignited the blade, swinging it at Sidious. The Sith blocked the attack, baring his teeth and laughing wildly in Obi-Wan’s face.

Then the duel really began.

It was fast and harrowing and Obi-Wan had never been more glad in his life to have had so much practice with Anakin. Sidious used a mixed bag of styles, his patterns erratic and swift. Obi-Wan did everything in his power to block each slash of the blood-red ‘saber, twisting and turning to avoid the beam where he couldn’t. As Obi-Wan ducked another swipe, already spinning up and around to try and land another blow, he sighted a weak point. A tiny sliver in the Sith’s defences. He didn’t think it would be much use to kill him, but he might be able to disarm him. Feeling the bright light of hope kindle within him, Obi-Wan redoubled his efforts.

“Vader!” Sidious ordered, as one would to a dog. “Assist me!”

Obi-Wan spared a glance to check Anakin wasn’t about to make his life even harder. All he saw was a sharp twitch of his head.

He immediately refocused on Sidious, quickly dodging a blow he’d nearly missed, circling away from the Sith, being careful to keep him away from the others in the room. Obi-Wan followed through his pattern, interspacing his habitual Form III with bits and pieces from other forms he often used with Anakin. Obi-Wan pushed all feelings of exhaustion from his mind, refusing to feel how draining this duel was. It didn’t matter, he just had to keep this up. He trusted Anakin to have a plan. Obi-Wan swung again, flipping back from another swipe, twisting in retaliation, spinning as he had before and— _there!_

Obi-Wan felt a rush of elation as he knocked the blade from Sidious’ hands, the hilt clattering to the floor, only to have the Sith Lord snarl at him, blasting Obi-Wan back with a powerful wave of the Force.

Obi-Wan was blown from his feet, sailing onto the floor, his weapon clattering away from his hand as he landed on his back. He managed to get his elbows up beneath his torso before a shadow passed over him. Sidious extended his hands, teeth bared and Obi-Wan prepared himself for the Force lightning he knew was coming. His breath was tight and pained in his chest from the force of the blast.

Then the Sith froze.

Sidious stood, as a statue, frozen in time, his hands raised in readiness to strike Obi-Wan down. His face was caught in the snarl he had begun, his eyes unblinking in their sockets.

“You tried to ruin my life,” Anakin said softly, and Obi-Wan turned his head to look at his partner. Anakin’s every word dripped with malice, his now completely blue eyes locked onto the frozen form of the Sith Lord, staring him down.

“I trusted you,” Anakin said, “and you betrayed that trust. I _hate_ you for what you tried to do to me. What you tried to do to my _family_ ”

There was a silence as Anakin let that sink in, his jaw working furiously, his mouth twisted with anger.

“And now, I am stronger than you!” Anakin all but shouted. “You tried to make me a _weapon_ to wield against the galaxy but I found my place and I deciphered the prophecy. Now I am balanced within myself and I am _stronger than you.”_

There was a beat of silence filled with Anakin’s laboured breaths. His hand shook where it was outstretched towards Sidious. Obi-Wan could not even imagine the amount of power it must take to hold such a creature hostage.

“Padmé?” Anakin prompted, never glancing away from the Sith.

Obi-Wan looked over to see Padmé standing near where she’d fallen, a blaster in her hand at her side. “You shouldn’t have touched my family,” she told him with icy calm. She raised her arm, and with one flawless movement, she pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to stand still.

The blast echoed around the room and a loud thump was heard as Sidious’ body slumped to the ground, Anakin still staring at it, wide eyed and furious.

The clones unfroze from their position, the three of them tugging off their helmets and breathing heavily, revealing Razor, Appo and Wooley, the three pale and sucking desperate breaths in.

Obi-Wan pulled himself off the floor, his legs shaky.

Another blast sounded through the room, Obi-Wan flinching at the sound. He turned, wide eyed, to see Appo standing over the corpse of the Emperor, his blaster pointed at a smouldering hole in the back of his head.

“Just checking,” Appo said with a wonky smile. “Good work, Senator.”

Obi-Wan snorted.

There was a bang as Sidious’ body exploded. A bright light blinded Obi-Wan and a wave of the Dark side rushed through the room. All of them staggered back as the force of the blast pushed them backwards, Appo losing his footing to land on his arse, letting out a very choice Mando’a curse. Obi-Wan felt what could almost be described as vertigo pass through him as the wave of Darkness filled the room like a flood, before vanishing as though it had never been there.

All six of them stared at the scorched hole in the floor where Sidious had once been.

“Boy am I glad this room is soundproof,” Razor muttered.

Obi-Wan watched as Anakin rushed over to Padmé, whispering something Obi-Wan couldn’t hear. His hands were running over his wife in concern and adoration, the two of them talking quietly. He saw Anakin kiss her fiercely.

“Would the three of you mind guarding the door while we try and sort this mess out?” Obi-Wan asked. “I don’t think we want anyone barging in on us by accident. We seem to have somehow murdered the Emperor.”

“Kriff yeah we did,” Wooley said with a grin, the other two smiling back just as excitedly, “and yeah, we’ll keep watch out there until you need us.”

Obi-Wan smiled. That was old clone wording for ‘we’re going to stand out here and play sabacc and maybe watch the hall until you need something’. It was good. They deserved it. He watched the three of them go with a fire in his heart.

Then Anakin was in his face.

“Thank you for distracting him,” Anakin said breathlessly, his hands shaking where they touched Obi-Wan. He felt hands run over his head, tracing down the back of his neck before gently cupping his face in Anakin’s hands. “That was kriffing hard to do. Are you okay?”

Obi-Wan smiled weakly, his hand coming up to rest over one of Anakin's. “Sore and tired, but fine, dear one. How are you?”

Anakin let out a long sigh and leant in to kiss Obi-Wan, soft but demanding, his hands gripping him like it was the only thing he could ever want. When Anakin pulled back, he looked at Obi-Wan with unfocused eyes and a wonky smile, saying, “Well, now I’m, uh, I’m just going to—” and Anakin passed out.

Thankfully Obi-Wan was still so full of adrenaline that he caught him without thinking about it. His heart skipped a beat as they slipped to the floor, carefully laying Anakin in his lap as he closely examined his lover. Obi-Wan ran his hands over Anakin’s body, checking for injury and gently explored through their reopened bond. He sighed in relief at what he found. Nothing life-threatening.

“What happened?” Padmé asked, striding over and crouching beside them.

“Exhaustion,” Obi-Wan said, not looking up. “To be able to keep Sidious from taking him over for so long and then holding him like that? It would have taken an immense amount of power and focus.” Obi-Wan dragged his fingers through Anakin’s hair. “He’s completely tapped out.”

Padmé let out a sigh of relief, leaning across Anakin to rest her forehead on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “What a day,” she murmured.

Obi-Wan freed up one of his hands to reach up and rest on the back of her head, stroking ever so slightly over her head. He heard her sigh, her shoulders relaxing just a tiny bit more, one of her hands coming to grasp his shirt.

They heard the door swish open and Wooley’s head poked through the gap, glancing down at the three of them. “Sorry to interrupt, but we just got word that Boost and Sinker found the twins and Cody is just about to collect them. Shall we bring them here or…?”

“Here, please, if you could,” Padmé said, Obi-Wan watching her stand up and brushing the dust from her knees. “I have a call I need to make.”

Wooley nodded and vanished again.

“Who are you calling?” Obi-Wan asked, watching as Padmé set herself in the late Emperor’s chair and switched on the computer set on the desk before her.

“Bail,” she replied, tapping into the device. “Someone’s got to give him the heads up that we killed the Emperor.”

Ah. Very true. He hadn’t thought of that, but also, he hadn’t properly slept for…36 hours? Maybe? He was very aware that his thoughts were not processing particularly well just now. He focused on sending Force healing energy at Anakin, trying to bolster his depleted reserves.

He heard the call dial and a blue hologram of Senator Organa appeared on the desk in front of Padmé.

“Good afternoon, Your Excellence,” Bail began automatically, his eyes not yet quite looking up. “How may I serve today?”

“Bail,” Padmé said flatly, and Bail’s eyes shot up and into hers.

“Padmé?” Bail exclaimed. “What—are you okay? I got a nearly incomprehensible message from Ahsoka about the twins being kidnapped. What the kriffing hells are you doing on this number?”

“The situation with Luke and Leia is under control. I’m calling about something else.” Padmé looked sheepish for a good long moment, her delicate face scrunched in preparation for the words she would have to speak. “You know that _plan_ we all put together on how to form the New Republic if the Emperor were to say, die?”

Bail’s whole air of worry dropped like a stone as his face morphed into deadpan exhaustion. “Padmé, what did you do?”

Padmé gave him a half-hearted smile. “I might have killed Palpatine.”

“ _You—_? No, please don’t tell me anything. Did you check the body?” Bail asked.

“The body exploded,” Padmé said. “Pretty sure he’s dead.”

Bail’s head dropped into his hands and Obi-Wan heard a faint, pained, “Fuck me,” come from his lips. Obi-Wan could not stop the smile that crept onto his face. “How—no, we don’t have time for you to explain this. I’ll start putting everything into motion. What are you going to do with that Star Destroyer you’re on? I can’t imagine you’re in control of it.”

“We’re…working on that,” Padmé said. “Also, how bad for you would it be if I declared myself Empress and took temporary control of the whole thing? That’d be bad right?”

“ _Yes_ , Padmé.” Bail shook his head. “Okay. Okay, we need to get this rolling now. The faster the better. Maybe we could use a little bit of chaos to our advantage…” He was now talking more to himself than anyone else. Bail paused, his eyes flicking back to Padmé briefly.

Padmé sighed, sensing what Obi-Wan did. “What is it Bail?”

“Just how attached to you to your job, exactly?”

Padmé closed her eyes and looked over briefly to himself and Anakin, a decision already set in her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll commit career suicide for the good of the galaxy. What exactly do you want me to do, Bail?”

There was a devilish glint in his eye. “Give me five minutes to write you a speech, and then I want you to use the full broadcasting capabilities of the Empire’s flag ship to send a message out to every planet in the galaxy. That will save me individually calling every leader in the rebellion and I think we can swing it to recall all the Senators to Coruscant.” Bail pressed his lips together and visibly began pacing back and forth, his image remaining in one place on the desk. “I think this could work. Could you perhaps tidy yourself up a tiny bit? I know that sounds rude but we need you to look as much like your old self as possible if we’re going to pull this off.”

Padmé looked thoughtful. “I think that’s doable. I might just need a little time.”

“That’s fine; does the ship you’re on know Sidious is dead?”

Padmé shook her head. “Only us and a handful of trusted friends.”

“Perfect,” Bail muttered. “Perfect. Okay, you get yourself ready, I’ll write the galaxy’s fastest script for you and send it over. I’ll use the usual encryption. We don’t want the officers downstairs catching wind of this.”

Padmé nodded and the call ended. He watched her take a deep breath.

“Okay?” Obi-Wan asked.

“We will be if I can pull this off.” She stood up from the chair and stalked across the room to activate the main door. True to Obi-Wan’s assessment, the three clones were sitting in the hallway with a deck of cards between them.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt,” Padmé said with a smile, “would one of you be able to find me a set of makeup? I’m about to put on a little show for the galaxy and need to look the part.”

Razor stood up, nodding. “I know someone. I’ll be back soon.” He took off running down the hall, his boots echoing from the doorway.

Then Padmé was back in front of him and Anakin. “Have you got a hair-tie on you?”

Obi-Wan went digging through his pockets, eventually finding three hair ties and a small clip with a bow. One of Leia’s favourites. He could return it to her when Cody got them here.

“Here,” Obi-Wan said, holding out his haul.

“Can you braid it for me?” Padmé asked. “That plaited crown would be perfect and keep it all off my face.”

“Of course.”

Padmé set herself on the ground in front of him. Obi-Wan’s legs were still bent at the knee with Anakin’s head on his thighs, completely dead to the world, so Padmé sat herself in front of his knees and leant back a bit to be more within reach. Obi-Wan began work on her hair, beginning the braid around the back of her head and working his way around the crown.

It was calming work, focused while being easy on his frazzled mind. The task slowly brought him down to a place of calm, his muscles relaxing from their rigid posture, while his breathing evened out. Then he felt colour burst across his vision as his bond to his children suddenly reappeared. Obi-Wan blinked, the rush of emotions clouding his mind for a moment. Cody. He must have removed the collars.

He felt a panicked and rather garbled feeling of _panic-concern-excitement_ and _Are you okay?_ being shoved at him from both twins. It was like being hit with a pod-racer.

 _I’m fine, and so are Mum and Dad._ Obi-Wan sent back. _Stay with Cody, he will look after you and bring you to us._

There was a feeling of understanding before their presences receded from his mind, now focused elsewhere. From what he caught in that exchange, both of them were feeling fine. He let out a long breath.

“Everything okay?” Padmé asked when his hands paused in their work.

“Cody’s found the twins and seems to have taken the Force inhibitor collars off,” Obi-Wan replied, returning to the plait. “They were checking in.”

“Oh good.”

Obi-Wan went back to work on her hair.

“Done?” Padmé asked when his hands fell away from her neck after he tied the last piece into place.

“Yes.”

Padmé turned, still settled on her knees, and leant forward to kiss him. Obi-Wan smiled into the kiss, leaning in just a little more and tilting his head. Then she pulled away, her eyelashes fluttering prettily on her cheek. She offered him a slow smile and then leant down to kiss Anakin’s forehead. She sat back on her heels and let out a breath.

The door swished open and Razor came rushing in, catching his shoulder on the still opening door.

“Make-up as requested,” he stated jogging over to the two of them. “I also found you a mirror. I thought it would help.”

Padmé stood up. “Perfect, thank you so much, Razor.” The clone handed over the small black case and round mirror, Padmé making her way over to the desk and beginning her work.

“How’s Cody doing with the twins?” Obi-Wan asked.

“He and the Wolfpack duo got them,” Razor said with a grin, “they’re just taking a detour via the mess hall. The mini-Skywalkers were apparently hungry and Cody, the huge sap, couldn’t not feed them.”

“Thank you.”

“We’ll be outside,” Razor said as he headed out. “I was winning you know.”

“May your luck continue,” Obi-Wan replied.

He looked over to watch Padmé mid-argument with the make-up in front of her. “Can I just say,” Padmé said, clearly disgruntled, “that going nearly five years without make-up has made my skills pretty damn rusty. Fuck it. I’m going with something simple.”

He watched her finish applying her lipstick, pressing her lips together thoughtfully and opened up the computer again. “Bail’s speech is here,” she informed him. Padmé let out a low whistle.

“Good, is it?” Obi-Wan asked, shifting his legs as they began to lose a bit of feeling.

Padmé nodded, smiling at the screen. “Bail really does have a way with words.”

Obi-Wan watched her with nothing but adoration in his eyes. “You’ll be amazing, darling.”

Padmé blew him a kiss before she settled into the chair muttering, “Wish me luck.”

She hummed thoughtfully, examining the terminal closely, tapping away at the computer and chewing on her lip. Then she scoffed, sarcastically asking, “Obi-Wan, what do you think; complete, galactic-wide holo and radio broadcast, or just one of the two?”

Obi-Wan laughed. “Might as well go all in.”

She nodded and fiddled with the computer a while longer.

“Okay. It’s set up.” She held her forefinger to her lips and Obi-Wan sat as still as he could.

She took a deep breath and pressed a button.

“Hello citizens of the galaxy, my apologies for interrupting your regular broadcasts,” Padmé began, her voice clear and smooth, and sounding so very self assured. “I am Padmé Amidala, former Senator of Naboo, and no, I’m not dead,” she said with a well humoured smile. “The day in my honour was an interesting touch, but entirely unnecessary given I am perfectly fine. I am speaking to you today to let you know that the Emperor is dead.” She left a very sensible pause to let whoever was listening time to process that information. “In all honesty, I can say that I am glad. Emperor Palpatine was a man I trusted many years ago. He was a man who seemed to have the Republic’s best interest at heart, and who just wanted to do right by the galaxy. I can now say with complete conviction that this was a lie.

“I’m sure many of you have come to a similar realisation in the past five years as the Emperor has plunged us into hatred, fear, and de-stabilised the galaxy as a whole. What I can now tell you is that he planned this from the start. Palpatine set the Trade Federation on his own planet of Naboo, manipulating myself as the then Queen of Naboo into declaring a Vote of No Confidence for Chancellor Valorum, placing Palpatine as the new Chancellor. Sadly his machinations did not end there.” Padmé paused for dramatic effect, glancing down as if saddened. “Palpatine choreographed the Clone Wars from start to finish, all with the aim of creating the Empire that exists now where he would have complete control of the Senate and the galaxy.” She paused again. “Palpatine, through Count Dooku, ordered the creation of the Republic’s Clone Army as well as the Separatists’ Droid Army. Palpatine choreographed the whole war, Dooku carrying out his orders in the name of the Separatists, while Palpatine manipulated our own republic Army and the Jedi back home. Why, I hear you asking, would he do this, what would he gain? The answer is all of the many, many wartime powers the Senate gave him, particularly the Emergency Powers Act.

“Slowly, over the course of the war, Palpatine gained strength and wore down his most worrisome enemy, the Jedi. The Jedi who were fighting and dying in a war that was fixed from the beginning.” Padmé was slowly beginning to unravel before his eyes, her composure clearly slipping as she continued. “The Jedi who he wiped out in the last day of the War by forcing their very own Clone Troopers to turn on them. Again, I hear you ask how such _good_ and _loyal_ men could do such a thing to their commanding officers and friends? Please think back to what I said earlier, Count Dooku ordered the creation of the Clones, along with the instructions to implant every single one with a chip in their brain, encoded on which were instructions these good men could not refuse to carry out. The day the war ended, and the Jedi appeared in his office to assist in him stepping down from his position as Chancellor, Palpatine refused and had them killed. He then issued Order 66 and each and every Clone Trooper had no choice but to kill any and all the Jedi they saw. Including the children.” A tear escaped Padmé’s eye, though she ignored it. “From there, the Empire we know today was formed. Palpatine assumed the role of Emperor and his reign as supreme ruler of the galaxy began. A rule many of you will recognise as cruel and unjust; embezzling funds to fuel secret projects, sending out the military to kill anyone who stood against the Empire, as well as neglecting aide to those who need it most in the galaxy. Palpatine stood for gaining and maintaining power, and that’s not what a good leader should stand for. They should stand for justice and equality and fairness wherever possible.”

Padmé took a long breath, letting her words sink in. “I’m sure many of you doubt me, and doubt the veracity of what I’ve told you today, and I understand. Palpatine was once one of my most trusted friends and advisors and I understand how this truth could be confounding. However, while many of you may have doubts, we have proof of everything I have told you. I invite all the Senators of the galaxy to come to Coruscant within the week to witness this collection of evidence we have amassed, and then we can discuss what we should do moving forward. Citizens of the galaxy, I urge you to contact your planet’s Senator and tell them what changes you hope to see.

“The Empire has failed the galaxy, and it has failed so many of you as individuals. I hope to see you all soon in a new, free Republic.” Padmé smiled, her eyes glistened with conviction and happiness. “Thank you for your attention and I wish you all a shining future.”

Padmé pressed a button and she sat, still as a statue for a moment longer, just staring blankly ahead. She let out a long breath before finally turning her head to look at him and Anakin, still settled on the floor. She smiled, a few tears escaping her eyes as she blinked.

Obi-Wan felt a warm blossoming of pride uncurl in his chest and found himself returning the look, his own eyes faintly damp. They had done it.

Padmé was up from the table in a flash, near-running across the room as she rushed over. She slid to her knees, carefully avoiding Anakin’s sprawled form, pulling up beside Obi-Wan and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“I cannot believe it,” Padmé breathed out, her breath fluttering across his neck. “We really did it.”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan replied. “You did a magnificent job with that speech, my love. It was truly amazing,.”

“Thank you.” He could hear the bashful smile in her voice. Her hands slid slowly along his skin, dipping beneath the neckline of his shirt, Padmé seeming to just want to touch him.

There was a swishing sound as Razor appeared in the doorway, saying, “Nice speech, Senator. Now prepare yourselves,” before the two of them heard the patented rhythm of small feet coming down the corridor outside.

Then there was an excited shriek as Luke and Leia came tearing into the room and threw themselves at Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Anakin.

The two children were already speaking as they ran across the room, talking over the top of each other. Luke basically climbed on Padmé while Leia stood next to Obi-Wan, staring very seriously at his face, words flying at a rapid fire pace. Obi-Wan only managed to catch bits and pieces, his mind struggling to process the influx of stimuli. From what he could gather, Luke hated whatever food Cody had found them and Leia wanted to go exploring on the ship but Cody wouldn’t let them, and also why did Rex and Jesse and Kix and Wolffe have so many brothers? Leia then talking about how there were so many people on this ship and she’d _never_ felt so many people before—

“Okay!” Padmé said loudly. “Luke, Leia, please stop and take a deep breath. You know it’s rude to speak over one another.”

Both twins snapped their mouths shut and looked sullen for a moment. They did as they were told however, taking a slow breath each. Obi-Wan took the relief on his senses to check who else he’d heard come in. Cody, Appo, Razor, Wooley, Boost and Sinker stood in a small group just inside the door, pretending not to watch the reunion.

“Good, thank you,” Padmé said with a smile at the two of them. “Now, one at a time, how are you?”

The twins exchanged a glance.

“I’m okay,” Luke said first. “I want Jesse’s food now, Cody’s food was gross.”

“I’m bored and want to go home,” Leia said. “But Cody showed us the ship and it’s _huge,_ so maybe we can go home later? I want to see more.”

“Thank you,” Padmé said when they were both done. “Very polite both of you. Did you thank Cody for getting you?”

They both nodded furiously, and Obi-Wan noticed Cody nodding as well. Obi-Wan watched as Padmé pulled both children in for a tight hug and inhaling deeply. Luke melted entirely into his mother, while Leia seemed happy for a moment before trying to wriggle free.

“What’s wrong with Dad?” Leia asked, after escaping her mother, leaning over Anakin and pressing her hand to his chest. “He feels…empty.”

“He’s very, very tired,” Padmé explained. “He’s spent this whole time looking for you.”

“That’s silly,” Luke said. “We had a nice sleep once the scary man left us alone.”

Obi-Wan chuckled, rubbing his hand on Luke’s head, Luke shying a way and shooting his father a disdainful look. Well, at least having the kids wearing the Force suppression collars meant they hadn’t been able to feel Sidious in the Force. Hadn’t had to feel the cold, hatefully slick feeling of the Dark Side.

The door swished open again and the whole room turned. The clones had their blasters up and primed before the intruder was even visible.

“Hello boys,” Ahsoka said confidently, waving at the clones as she strode into the room.

Appo dropped his gun on the floor and had tackled Ahsoka in a hug before Obi-Wan even had time to blink. Cody gave Ahsoka a respectful nod which she returned, her nod slightly more jovial and faintly sarcastic. Cody just stared her down and Ahsoka broke into a bright smile.

She walked over and slapped him on the shoulder. “Glad to see you haven’t changed, Cody.”

“You’re certainly _taller,_ ” he replied.

“Soka!” Luke yelled, waving at her.

“So, a rather important broadcast told me a certain evil jerk is dead?” Ahsoka asked, crouching with the three of them, Luke sidling up to his older sister.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan replied. “A rather serendipitous side effect of getting these two back.”

“Awesome,” Ahsoka said, grinning widely. “What’s up with Skyguy?”

“It’s a long story, but essentially, taking down Sidious took it out of him.”

Ahsoka nodded seriously.

“What are you doing here?” Obi-Wan asked.

Ahsoka fixed him with a look that suggested he had hit his head rather hard at some point. “Rescuing you. We got a call from Luminara and we scrambled to get out here and help.”

Ah, that was right. Obi-Wan remembered Anakin mentioning that.

Then Rex and an entourage of two other rebels came in, the clone’s dark eyes sweeping the room quickly, coming to land on the other clones. What ensued could only be described as the burliest group hug Obi-Wan had ever seen, with only Cody holding off.

When Rex was no longer being smothered by the others, Cody stepped in, Rex’s grin brightening further at seeing his old comrade.

“Rex, what the hell happened to you?” Cody asked, frowning at his brother and his long golden hair.

“I lost a bet with Kix,” Rex grumbled.

“Ha!” The laugh burst unexpectedly out of Cody, his whole face lighting up. “It _almost_ suits you. Come here.” Cody held his arms open, and the two brothers in arms and blood embraced one another with a good deal of back thumping.

“So what are we going to do with this Star Destroyer?” Obi-Wan asked.

“We can handle that,” Ahsoka said brightly. “I always wanted one of my own.”

Well. That could only end well.

“I see that face, Obi-Wan,” Ahsoka said pointedly. “I’ve managed to sneak quite the sizeable rebel force onto this ship. It’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure it will be, Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan responded. “What’s the plan for us?”

“Well I’ve still got rather a nice ship on standby to be stolen,” Cody said. “Take it. It’ll be a rather nice flight to Coruscant.”

Obi-Wan stared at his friend. “You were going to steal the Emperor’s personal ship, weren’t you, Cody?”

Cody just gave him the most vindictive, evil little smile he had ever seen on his Commander’s face.

Rex high-fived him.

Obi-Wan just shook his head, hiding a smile and jostled Anakin slightly, trying to work out the best way to get them both up from the floor, just managing to get one arm around the back of Anakin’s shoulders and hefting him up so they were both sitting. The motion was enough that Anakin came around for a moment.

“Was’happening?” came a garbled murmur as Anakin clawed his way back to the land of consciousness.

“We’re going home, my love,” Obi-Wan said, leaning down and kissing the corner of Anakin’s mouth. He felt Anakin smile at the action, humming contentedly in the back of his throat. “Back to Coruscant to set everything right.”

When he looked up again, Obi-Wan sighed as he watched Wooley hand Cody a small collection of credits, Cody looking far too smug about it. Some things never change.

“We’re going to get on a different ship to get there, Ahsoka has claimed the Star Destroyer,” Padmé explained.

“She deserves it,” Anakin muttered loosely, his eyes sliding shut again. “S’a good girl.”

Ahsoka snorted into her hand a few feet away, her blue eyes crinkling warmly at Anakin.

“Dad!” Luke yelled, noticing Anakin was awake.

“Hey, lovely,” Anakin replied blearily, opening his eyes briefly again. “How’re you?”’

“I’m okay.”

“N’Leia?”

“I’m fine,” the girl in question said, coming over to stand where her father could see her.

“Tha’s good,” Anakin noted, slightly slurred. “Did’you both look after each other?”

The pair of them nodded seriously.

“Good.”

That seemed to be it for Anakin as he dropped back into sleep. Obi-Wan could feel how the interaction had taxed his already exhausted body. They should really get him to a bed rather than the floor.

“I think it’s time we headed out. Anakin needs a real rest,” Obi-Wan said to no-one in particular.

“Well, while we need to go to Coruscant, we _should_ probably return Hondo’s ship and fetch everyone from home,” Padmé said, standing up and gathering the twins around her legs.

“I can do that,” Rex offered, “though I think I’ll need an extra set of hands.”

“I’ll come,” Appo said, raising his hand.

Rex offered him a truly blinding grin. “Excellent. We’ll go and fetch everything and meet you on Coruscant.”

“Don’t rush,” Padmé replied. “I’m sure the next couple of weeks are going to be an utter mess, so you may as well take the time to collect everything.”

Rex nodded. “We wouldn’t want to forget Gub.”

“Oh, Rex, please don’t even suggest such a thing. We’d all never hear the end of it,” Padmé said, horrified. “Leia loves him.”

“Please, Uncle Rex?” Leia asked, big eyed and knowing exactly what she was doing.

A titter went up among the other clones.

“She loves me, shove off,” Rex groused, tossing his brothers a small glare. It did absolutely nothing to dissuade them.

“Moving on,” Padmé diverting the conversation before it could dissolve into further teasing, “who’s staying with Ahsoka, and who wants to come with us to Coruscant?”

“With you,” Boost said. There was a chorus of _same’_ s from Sinker, Wooley and Razor, Cody just nodding along with them.

“I think that’s everyone sorted?” Padmé inquired and was met with silent affirmation. “Excellent. I say we go then.”

The room sprung into action, Ahsoka wishing them good luck with a promise that she would see them soon, then she rounded up the two rebels that had come in with Rex and headed out the door. Rex and Appo followed soon after, throwing everyone in the room a brief wave of goodbye.

Obi-Wan managed to get himself and Anakin up off the ground with some effort, his own body protesting the movement, fatigue pressing itself forward in his mind again.

“May I?” Cody asked, suddenly beside him and holding his arms out in offering. “I can carry him down.”

“If you wouldn’t mind?” Obi-Wan said.

Cody nodded and they slung Anakin over the ex-Commander’s shoulder.

“Sorry Cody, and thank you.”

Cody huffed. “It’s not like it’s the first time you’ve both driven yourselves to exhaustion. Also, your lightsaber is on my belt. I found it on the floor over there.” Cody nodded over to where it had likely rolled after Sidious had thrown him back.

Obi-Wan chuckled and placed a companionable hand on Cody’s shoulder. “I don’t know how I’ve lived without you for the last five years, Cody.”

“I’m assuming like a disaster.”

Obi-Wan laughed and took his ‘saber back, adding to his own belt. He also noted that Anakin had his ‘sabre still attached, so at least that problem had solved itself. Now that both his arms were freed, Luke attached himself to one, his small hand curling into Obi-Wan’s larger one. Leia stayed with her mother. They headed off through the Destroyer.

The ship was suspiciously quiet as the ten of them made the trek back from Sidious’ chamber to the ship’s docking bay. Obi-Wan decided not to question the silence, however suspicious. Whatever Ahsoka was doing, or whatever effect Padmé’s speech had had on the troops, he was not going to second-guess it. The shuttle they stopped in front of was easily the nicest one in the bay: sleek, black, and expensive. Anakin would have loved it. Luke at least seemed very enamoured with it, his small hand sliding along the slick hull in appreciation as they walked past it and up the loading ramp.

All of them paused to stand in the hallway of the ship for a moment.

“We’ll watch the kids for a bit if you wanna rest,” Wooley offered.

“Do you two want to stay with Uncle Wooley?” Obi-Wan asked the twins. “I’m sure he’d love to show you the ship.”

“Yeah! Wizard!” Luke exclaimed, detaching himself from Obi-Wan and skipping over to the man.

Leia followed suit, saying, “I wanna see the cockpit.”

“Just send them in with us if they get tired,” Padmé said, before she mouthed _Thank you_ at Wooley who smiled in return, directing the kids off to another room.

Cody, with Anakin in tow, lead them down another small hallway and into a bedroom. “Don’t worry,” he said, picking up on Obi-Wan’s thought that this was clearly the room the Emperor would have used. “We clean this whole ship top to bottom in between flights. No residual asshole germs here.” Cody then carefully placed Anakin on the bed and said “I’ll fly us out,” and walked from the room.

Obi-Wan carefully placed a pillow beneath Anakin’s head before tugging off his shoes and pulling the blanket out from beneath him to tuck him in. Anakin barely even twitched at any of it. Padmé followed suit, though he noted that she wasn’t wearing shoes.

“Where are your shoes?”

“Oh,” Padmé looked down, surprised. “Back in Cody’s room. I didn’t have time to put them on when you dragged us out of there.”

“Ah. My apologies.” Obi-Wan paused. “Did you kill the Lord of the Sith in your socks?”

A wild grin slowly appeared on Padmé’s face. Obi-Wan broke into unrestrained and faintly manic laughter. There was just something so undignified and hilarious about the most powerful Sith in the galaxy being murdered by an angry mother in her socks. The two exhausted spouses ended up giggling while sitting on the bed, Obi-Wan just beside Anakin with Padmé on the opposite side.

She yawned when their laughter finally died down, moving to lie on the edge of the bed, smiling lazily at him. “Come on, dearest,” Padmé said, pulling him down and curling up next to him. “You need to rest too. You look like a wreck.” She pressed a brief kiss to his lips.

“Thanks,” Obi-Wan said dryly, curling up beside her with Anakin on his other side.

He was asleep within seconds.

* * *

Obi-Wan woke to a warm wall to his back with an arm slung over his waist and warm breath brushing the back of his neck.

“Morning,” a gentle voice said and Obi-Wan felt Anakin’s lips kiss the back of his shoulder. Obi-Wan smiled into his pillow before shuffling to be lying on his back, looking up at a wall of blond hair and a smile.

Anakin was kissing him properly before he had a chance to think. It was warm and full of need. The relief that Anakin was back in his arms and free from Sidious suffused his whole body. Obi-Wan pressed forward, closing his eyes with a little exhale. This was perfect.

Obi-Wan heard Padmé shift and he turned his head to see brown eyes blinking slowing beside him, a soft little smirk on her lips.

“Padmé?” Anakin queried.

Padmé just mumbled something along the lines of ‘too tired’, and held out her hand. Anakin laughed and kissed the offered limb.

They lay there, warm and comfortable, with Padmé’s arm left strewn across his torso as they regained the motivation to be human again instead of sleepy Loth-cats.

Anakin smiled lazily, and yawned, his finger tracing shapes on Obi-Wan’s chest. “So what did the two of you get up to? I had a damn hard time finding you for him.”

“We hid in plain sight,” Padmé said, smugly and the two of them walked Anakin through their expedition around the Star Destroyer; of hiding in vents and in stormtrooper costumes before finding the small contingent of clones who were eager to help them out.

“I thought I heard that one of my new guards was Appo.”

“He’s gone off with Rex to help pack up the farm, but the rest are with us,” Obi-Wan said.

Anakin nodded. “We’re going to Coruscant aren’t we? I think I remember having that conversation.”

“Yes. Bail had me do a galaxy wide broadcast about how Palpatine was dead and how all the Senators should come in to examine evidence about his corruption. I seemed to currently be one of Bail’s best holochess pieces so, if nothing else, people will come to see if it’s really me.”

“Clever,” Anakin noted. “I would have loved to see that broadcast.”

Padmé smiled. “Considering it’s probably just shoved a rather large rock into the path of the history of this galaxy, I should imagine there will be a few copies.”

“Oh. Good.”

“What happened with you?” Obi-Wan asked, wanting to know if his hypothesis was correct.

“I let him think that he had me,” Anakin said. “But I’d done what you’d suggested years ago and changed up my shielding to shore up any cracks he’d dug in. It was enough that I could feel what he wanted, and could then decide myself what to do. I generally went along with it because it made him think that he had me under his control again.” Anakin smiled. “Then I did what he’d done to me, I worked out a way past his shielding and found a way into his head. So, thank you both, for hiding so well, it gave me more time to burrow through.”

“Did he tell you anything?” Padmé asked. “Like how he found us?”

Anakin chewed on his lip for a moment. “Not…technically. I—I had to get really deep in his head to pull that off.” Anakin shivered as he spoke. “So I know all sorts of things which I’m sure will be handy, such as where he’s hidden a _lot_ of incriminating evidence—and did you know they were building a kriffing planet-destroying super weapon?”

Padmé pursed her lips. “No, but that would explain a few things.”

“The twins?” Obi-Wan pressed.

“Oh, well, they kind of got themselves kidnapped,” Anakin said. “The two of them are apparently a pair of little liars who definitely did not stop communicating while you were on Varonat. Sidious picked up these bright bursts of Force energy and sent someone to investigate. Lo and behold, his Inquisitor spy finds you leaving Varonat, so Sidious commands him to follow you, which leads him right to our home. Then all Sidious had to do was brook a deal with Jabba to take them when we were out of the house and here we all are.”

“Gods damn it,” Padmé groaned, rubbing her hands over her face.

Obi-Wan sympathised. Apparently all it took to reveal a very covert and well planned secret rebel meeting was one four year old girl who couldn’t resist talking to her brother. They’d need to have a very intense talk with the twins at some point.

“Are you feeling alright?” Obi-Wan asked, curling their fingers together, his thumb stroking along the side of Anakin’s hand. “I can’t imagine being in his head to be very pleasant.”

Anakin shook his head, curling into Obi-Wan and partially shoving his face into the front of Obi-Wan’s shirt.

“No,” Anakin said softly. “I feel…I don’t know.” He closed his eyes.

“You don’t have to talk about it now,” Obi-Wan said. “But we’re here to listen when you need it.”

Anakin nodded against his chest.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry about lying about me and Kitster,” Anakin mumbled into his shirt.

“No,” Padmé cut in, “ _we’re_ sorry, Anakin.”

Anakin turned his head properly at that, one of his eyes looking up at Padmé.

“We talked about it,” Obi-Wan explained, “while we were trapped in Cody’s quarters. You were right; we hadn’t been supportive in the past, and likely would have suggested that it was too dangerous, which looking at Jabba’s palace now, is a bit of a stretch.”

Anakin let out a tiny laugh.

“We realised we’d never really taken your past into account, and were stupidly blind to a very real issue,” Padmé continued, her hand coming to rest on their joined hands. “You’re too good, Anakin, and we should have been able to recognise you were just trying to help people who needed it and—” Padmé paused, pressing her lips together thoughtfully. “—and if you ever want to talk about your childhood more closely we’d be happy to listen.”

Anakin’s eyes glistened in the low light of the private quarters. He re-buried his face in Obi-Wan’s shirt, a garbled and faintly hitched voice saying, “Thank you.”

The three of them lay together in relived silence. Obi-Wan was still trying to reconcile the fact that _they had defeated Sidious_. The Sith were gone from the galaxy! It boggled the mind. So, he ignored it. Instead, he focused on the warmth penning him in on both sides, happily basking in the affection and contentment he could feel pulsing through his and Anakin’s bond.

Padmé spoke first. “We should probably check that Luke and Leia haven’t killed their new Uncles yet.”

Obi-Wan hummed in agreement.

It took them a few minutes to all finally exit from the bed, Padmé the last one to kick off blankets and shimmy her clothes back into place. The three parents went in search of their children and found them dead asleep on the floor with Boost and Sinker in a similar state, a pack of cards scattered around them. Razor was sitting on a plush grey couch and reading when they arrived. He looked up as they came in, shooting a smile at them.

“You were out for a while,” Razor noted, putting the holopad down.

“How long?” Padmé asked.

“A good day or so. We sent the kids to sleep in with you last night, but none of you even twitched.” He grinned. “We thought we’d better let you sleep. The twins have been real easy to watch, so it was no trouble.”

“Thank you,” Anakin said. “And sorry, I don’t think I recognise you?”

“Razor. 91st Reconnaissance Corps, Lightning Squadron.”

“Razor,” Anakin repeated, thinking. “You got a commendation for valour didn’t you? For Ryloth?”

“That I did.”

Anakin nodded and the three of them sat down on the couch with Razor and talked amongst themselves, leaving the four kids on the floor to their impromptu nap.

The next three days passed with everyone in high spirits.

Luke and Leia, once they discovered their parents were awake, stuck to them like fleshglue. They heard all about what happened to the pair of them, with thankfully only brief memory’s of Jabba’s palace, which Obi-Wan attributed to the fact they were likely in a bit of shock from the application of the collars. Both twins were far more fixated on the big ship they’d gotten to go on. Sidious had apparently kept them well fed and in a nice room in an odd corner of the ship. Luke described the Sith as the spooky monster who’d come to talk to them occasionally, and he seemed to barely register on Leia’s radar. She’d been much more interested in the technology that had been left in the room for them. All in all, Obi-Wan was beyond pleased that neither seemed too traumatised about the event. They were a little more clingy than usual, but then, so was he. Only time would tell.

Luke and Leia also took to their new Uncles with great excitement, always interested in meeting new people. Wooley seemed to be their favourite so far, mainly because he let them play with his hair and he would play hide and seek with them both. Boost and Sinker continued to try to teach them sabacc, which had explained the earlier explosion of cards, but they were (unsurprisingly) having little success. Cody and Razor kept to themselves more often than not, but would always talk pleasantly with the twins when they needed to.

Eventually, the twins realized they weren’t going home to Tatooine. Padmé and Cody had been discussing it in passing, Cody having a few questions about what was to be done with all the clones now that things appeared to be on the up-and-up. Obi-Wan had only been half listening. Anakin had fallen asleep on him again, and he was pretty close to following behind, the two of them still suffering from residual exhaustion, when Padmé uttered the sentence, “We’ve put in place a number of bills to make sure you and your brothers are granted citizenship and rights, but we’ll have to wait until we get to the Core to show you the actual documentation.”

There had been a brief outpouring of tears from the children, initially distraught that they weren’t going home. In the end, it turned out to be quiet an easy sell. All they had to say was that ‘they were going to Coruscant’ which utterly thrilled Luke who was sure it was somewhere he’d never get to go, and ‘everyone else from home will be coming too’. Those two points covered, the twins cast aside any doubts about this move, and were excitedly talking about it to anyone who would listen. Luke seemed to be quizzing everyone on what they knew about the planet (and then correcting them because Obi-Wan had clearly taught him too much), while Leia wanted to know about how many people lived there, followed by _how could that many people exist in the whole galaxy?_ Obi-Wan was sure it wouldn’t last forever. At some point they would get homesick for Tatooine, but it wasn’t as though they could never visit and he was certain they would like Coruscant.

Obi-Wan passed most of the trip in a bit of a daze. He was still rather tired and having a difficult time processing that Darth Sidious was really gone. He’d loomed over their lives like a spectre of darkness for so long that he just couldn’t believe that the last week had happened. Intellectually, he knew, of course, but emotionally was another issue entirely. Padmé seemed to be in a similar state, though she appeared to be coming to grips with it a little easier. It likely helped that she was the one to finish the deed—a fact she was rather proud of.

It had hit Anakin three days after they’d woken up, though in a rather different way. Thankfully, it had just been him, Padmé, and Anakin in the room as they were settling into bed. The three of them had crawled into the blankets with Anakin settled in the middle. Obi-Wan was very close to being asleep when he felt a blast of fear rip through their bond as Anakin sat straight up, panting heavily, and waving his hand violently at the light switch to turn it back on.

Obi-Wan sat up immediately, worry clutching at his heart.

Anakin turned to him, wide eyed and pallid, visibly shaking in the light of the room. Then Obi-Wan had an armful of the younger man, Anakin throwing himself at Obi-Wan and wrapping his arms around his shoulders and hiding his face in Obi-Wan’s neck, breathing fast and sharp against his skin.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan questioned, his hands automatically coming up to hold his love in his arms.

Anakin just shook his head, gripping tighter.

Padmé was still asleep, evidently managing to drop off quicker than them both, and slept through the turmoil in the room. Slowly, muscle by muscle, Anakin relaxed against him again, his breathing slowing to a better pace

“Are you alright?”

“I thought—” Anakin whispered, and then cut himself off. “I was nearly asleep, then it felt like I was back in _his_ mind. I thought he had me again. I thought he’d won.” He shivered, the words rushing out of him like a flood. “It was just so—so awful, Obi-Wan. The things he’d done, the things he was going to do. He just felt so…inhuman. I feel like I’ll never be able to get him out of my head.” Anakin burst into gut wrenching sobs, wetness soaking the collar of Obi-Wan’s shirt.

“It’s okay,” Obi-Wan murmured into Anakin’s hair. “You’re here now. You’re with me and Padmé and Sidious is gone. You’re safe, Anakin. You’re not Sidious. He can’t control you anymore.” Obi-Wan repeated sentiment after sentiment of the same, letting the idea curl around their bond and sooth away the sharp anxiety still trying to lay claim to Anakin.

When Anakin wasn’t seeming quite so overwhelmed, Obi-Wan kissed the top of Anakin’s head, smoothing a hand over his shoulders. “Do you want to talk about what you saw?”

Anakin shook his head violently. “Not—not yet, not right now. I think I’m still working through a lot of it. Soon, though. I want to. I hate this.”

“I know,” Obi-Wan replied. “You are amazingly brave for what you did, my love, but it was also a terrible and frightening thing for you to experience. It’s just going to take time to come to terms with it. Padmé and I are here whenever you need us. We love you.”

Anakin hummed in passive agreement, a light smile on his lips. They let the topic drop for now and the pair of them fell asleep, wrapped around one another.

Then, one day later, their ship was gliding slowly down through the atmosphere of Coruscant. The cityscape glittered beneath them, looking almost exactly the same as it had five years ago, apart from the Imperial banners waving from a few of the buildings. A couple looked suspiciously like they had been set on fire.

Luke and Leia stood with their noses pressed to the window, staring out at the scenery in wonder. The both of them were making the sounds of people who had just had their wildest dreams blown to smithereens because there was no way they could have ever imagined a place so huge and shining. They pointed at nearly every building they passed, Luke getting particularly excited when he realised the small moving dots in the sky were flying speeders.

Then, upon the horizon, Obi-Wan sighted two familiar buildings; they stood, huge and iridescent in the skyline of the city. The Senate and the Jedi Temple. Obi-Wan felt Padmé’s hand grab his, and noted the way she grabbed Anakin with her other hand, a bright, excited glow settled on her face.

He gazed back out at the view.

They were home.


	31. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, sorry for the gap, the writers block decided to hit 4k into the chapter and then it was a fucking arduous slog to write anything. It also likely didn’t help that I had a whole lot of medical stuff going on around then which took up a lot of my thoughts. Then the words suddenly came back about a week ago thanks to a prompt from a lovely commenter (thank you Elfe90), and then I somehow barfed out an extra 27k in about a week. It was wild.
> 
> I absolutely cannot believe we have made it here. I started writing this thing in around June 2016 as a fun personal thing because I had a lot of feelings about Star Wars and this very good OT3. I had no intentions of publishing it and then on a wild whim, published the first chapter of this fic (my second ever published fanfic, and the first one was from in 2008 and is very bad) so it was very nerve-wracking for me. Honestly, I was hoping for like 200 kudos and thought that this fic had a maximum 80k word count and BOY was I very wrong on both counts.
> 
> So I want to say, from the very bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. This fic somehow became monstrously long and the responses I have received from all of you have been so overwhelmingly positive. The love I have gotten through the comments, the fanarts, and the fanmix has just been so amazing and it has meant the world to me. The constructive criticism has always been super helpful and helped make this fic much better than it might have otherwise been (and if you weren’t already aware, there were some rewrites made just before Ch. 26 came out, so if you want to know what those changes were, see the end notes of Ch. 25). Also, catch me continuing to edit it after this chapter lol. I find a new typo every time I open AO3.
> 
> Also, I’ve had a few people ask about sequels or if there will be more. This story, Sigh No More, definitely ends here, this was the story I had planned from the very beginning and I think continuing it indefinitely would be a mistake on my part. In terms of sequels, honestly, I don’t know. I doubt there will be a big sequel if I do anything, as this fic took up a significant chunk of my life/brain and I can’t really afford to do that again. One-shots are a very real possibility, but it may or may not be in the same AU. However, if after this chapter there’s anything in particular you’d like more of, let me know, and if I have an idea for it, I may write it. (I’ve already had a request for a one-shot covering Plo & Wolffe as 66 went down and uhhhhh I’ve already started writing it so…yup)
> 
> Of course, huge thank you to my wonderful beta Matlida_Nicki who jumped in around Ch. 23 and has been invaluable for the fic, helping me make it the very best it can be. She’s been amazing to work with and I cannot thank her enough! She can be found on tumblr under foiblefoldandflail if you want to check her out.
> 
> With all of that said I will shut up now, thank you again for joining me on this journey, and I hope you enjoy the final chapter.
> 
> xoxo Edan

Coming home to Coruscant felt decidedly strange.

They’d arrived halfway through the day, Bail meeting them on a secret, previously decided-upon landing platform, all of them eager to avoid any form of media presence. Bail had pulled Padmé into a tight embrace before he did the same for both Obi-Wan and Anakin. Leia began immediately vying for his attention while also introducing her brother to the Alderaanian Senator. Luke quickly decided that Bail was the ideal victim to ask his endless questions about Coruscant, such as how it worked, and why it did that, and what it was that Bail did. At least until his mother derailed the interrogation in favour of getting them out of the public eye. 

After a brief ride in an enclosed speeder, Bail surprised them all; he’d taken them and the clones to the Jedi Temple.

“I started having rooms made up once I knew you were coming,” Bail explained as they walked through the eerily quiet halls. “It was the easiest way to accommodate you all and those that I’m sure will follow. I know it’s not filled with the best memories just now, but if we don’t try, it won’t ever be again.”

Anakin couldn’t argue with that; He just wished he could still say the he couldn’t remember the last time he was here. Appo and Obi-Wan appeared to be the most disquieted by the Temple, while everyone else seeming to find the silence eerie. Luke and Leia were just excited by the enormous building with its ornate decor and towering statues.

They were housed in some of the larger accommodations, a little ways off from the Room of A Thousand Fountains and Anakin was glad he didn’t know who these rooms had originally belonged to. His family took what looked like a relatively spacious Master and Padawan suite, while the clones spread themselves out between three suites. Bail had left them soon after, citing what sounded like a complete logistical disaster in the Senate, and promising to be back tomorrow to collect Padmé, who needed to fill out a number of forms, undertake a medical exam, and jump through an alarming number of hoops in order to be legally resurrected.

“It’ll likely take a few days,” Bail had said with a sigh. “It may even take longer if they decide to give us the runaround. Oh, also I’ll send someone to bring you some clothes and food. It wouldn’t do to have you all starve.”

They all thanked Bail profusely for everything.

Anakin and his family spent the rest of that day alternating between keeping themselves busy in any way they could and sitting around uselessly and staring at the walls. Padmé seemed the most adjusted of all of them, and ended up falling asleep on one of the couches in their quarters while Luke and Leia refused to be in any room that at least one of their parents weren’t also in residence.

Once the promised food arrived, Anakin, his spouses, the children, and the clones spent the afternoon cleaning out the kitchen in the mess hall and making a large dinner to feed all ten of them. It was a quiet meal. Obi-Wan spent a lot of time staring at different places around the room and not a whole lot of time eating. The clones seemed to not be sure of what to do with themselves until Luke decided to drag them into a game of chase. Padmé appeared deep in thought and had typed out a few things on one of the holopads Bail had also had delivered to them.

Eventually, Anakin had been sucked into a card tournament with Wooley, Razor, Sinker, and Boost, Sinker absolutely wiping all of them out of their credits (read: spoons) very quickly. Cody ended up deep in quiet conversation with Obi-Wan and Padmé took the kids back to their quarters for an early bedtime. Anakin and Obi-Wan turned in perhaps an hour after that, finding Padmé laying across the bed and staring at the ceiling. 

“It’s weird to be  _ in  _ the Temple,” Padmé noted. “I never spent much time here before.”

_ Before _ . What a word.

“We’ll make it work,” Obi-Wan assured her as they all climbed into bed.

It took awhile for any them to fall asleep.

The next morning Anakin woke to find the apartment far too quiet. A hastily scribbled note left on the counter stated that Padmé had to go meet with Bail to begin work on resurrecting herself officially, while Obi-Wan just wasn’t there. The twins were still asleep in their shared bed when he poked his head into their room. 

Shrugging, Anakin set about making himself breakfast in the small kitchenette of their quarters. Of course, the moment the smell of warm toast began permeating the apartment, Luke and Leia burst from the bedroom asking for food. Well, it gave him something to do. Anakin gave up his toast to the twins, covering the thick slices in jam.

“Any good?” Anakin asked them as they tucked into the meal.

“It’s different,” Leia noted, chewing slowly.

“It’s a different berry than the jam we had on Tatooine,” Anakin explained. “Do you like it?”

Leia shrugged, muttering, “It’s okay,” but continued to eat it anyway.

Luke barely seemed to notice, scarfing down his food before scurrying off back to their room and reappearing with a small pile of paper and some pencils. “Mr Bail left us stuff,” he proclaimed, setting it on the small dining table and beginning a scribbled drawing. “Mum said we had to wait until after breakfast.”

Both children now fed and occupied, Anakin tried feeding himself again. He threw his toast together and ate it quietly while he watched the twins draw, offering the occasional suggestion. Once he’d eaten and finished tidying up the dishes, Anakin flopped unceremoniously onto the long couch, staring up at the ceiling.

He didn’t feel quite right and he couldn’t quite put his finger on why. It likely didn’t help that he kept having flashes of Sidious in his mind, which was making life a little bit difficult. 

Anakin wished that there had been  _ any  _ other way they could have taken the Sith down, any way that meant he hadn’t had to dig down deep into the consciousness of the most vile man in the galaxy to accomplish their goal. Unfortunately, Anakin was fairly sure fighting him wouldn’t have worked, especially since he and Obi-Wan had been near-collapse by the time they had a chance to do anything. It had been an all round bad situation and they’d done what they had to get out alive.

Anakin just didn’t want any of the memories that came with it.

He knew he needed to talk to Obi-Wan and Padmé; he  _ wanted  _ to get it off his chest, but the thought of saying some of the stolen memories out loud just seemed so awful. His partners were giving him time, and Obi-Wan had been so supportive so far, holding him close when he’d been around and Anakin had been caught in the memories. He also just…didn’t want to worry them. They had finally  _ done it _ . They had  _ defeated Sidious _ . Everything was meant to be  _ okay— _

He heard the swish of the door.

“Where’d you go?” Anakin asked from the couch as Obi-Wan appeared in the doorway.

Obi-Wan startled, his eyes flashing up to Anakin’s, his right hand clenching around something Anakin couldn’t see.

“Very suspicious,” Anakin noted, sitting up. “What’s going on?”

Obi-Wan came further into the room and gave Anakin a guilty smile. “I was off booting up the Temple computer. The whole system was trying to have a little bit of a meltdown so it took longer than expected. I thought I’d be back before you woke up.”

“And?” Anakin pressed. He could feel a thin tremor of  _ guilt _ humming along their bond, coming from Obi-Wan’s end.

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together, his eyes darting away for just a moment. “I was also removing the footage of the day the Temple fell from the computer. I didn’t think…” he trailed off. Obi-Wan took a deep breath, his voice gaining a stripe of steel. “I decided it would be a cruel thing to leave in the system for anyone to find, and I refuse to have your name dragged through the mud for something you didn’t do.”

“Oh.”

“I did…keep a copy though, just in case,” Obi-Wan said slowly, opening his clenched hand to show Anakin a small data-disk. “As much as I would love to destroy it, I thought it best to keep it and hide it on the off chance we ever  _ should _ need it.”

Anakin nodded, trying not to think about it too hard. “That makes sense.”

“Do you want it? Or—”

“You keep it. Please,” Anakin said, looking away from the loathsome object. The last thing he needed in his life was another reminder that he’d had that monster in his head. “Don’t tell me where you hide it.”

“Of course, Anakin.”

Anakin set about distracting himself from even considering looking at where Obi-Wan stashed the thing. There was a tiny, guilty part of him that wanted to see the footage and confront what he had allowed to happen. However, the sensible part knew how terrible of an idea that would be and how completely unhelpful it would be in all senses.

By the time Obi-Wan reappeared to place a hand on his shoulder and nod seriously at him, Anakin was feeling restless. 

“Shall we take the twins for a walk?” Obi-Wan suggested. “I’m sure there’s all sorts of thing in the Temple they’d love to see.”

Anakin nodded quickly, offering Obi-Wan a smile, and the two of them rounded up Luke and Leia. They began on a long walk through the temple, starting from their rooms and trawling through the surrounding hallways, both twins peeking in to nearly every doorway they passed.

Obi-Wan was clearly using the time to mentally catalogue everything they saw: what was run down, what was completely broken, and what still looked okay. Anakin ended up joining in, pointing out issues until Obi-Wan couldn’t resist any longer and pulled a small data-pad from his pocket, beginning to make a list. It was, of course, itemised and categorised by area.

The Room of a Thousand Fountains was silent and the water murky; Anakin quickly identified the water filters and pumps that needed fixing to clear the water properly. There was no power in the library, the source of which they couldn’t yet identify, but Anakin felt confident that if someone were to get into the walls, then the issue would likely present itself. Obi-Wan was concerned that Madame Nu had completed some kind of mass-wipe or hard reset of the system, worried that so much knowledge was just be gone, but Anakin hoped that it wasn’t that. The mats in all the training rooms were moth-bitten and dusty, and would definitely need to be replaced if they wanted to continue to use them. The classrooms were mostly okay, with only a few teaching screens having been damaged. The server room however, was a  _ disaster _ . Sidious had clearly sent people in here in an attempt to get around Obi-Wan’s lockdown and had absolutely shredded lines and lines of wiring, and, Anakin noted, that many wires had been plugged into the wrong places. Whoever Sidious had sent clearly had no idea what they were doing.

Luke and Leia were fascinated by the whole thing. Luke had attempted to jump into the stagnant water of the Fountains, thankfully stopped mid-jump by Anakin’s quick use of the Force. They’d then had to have a serious conversation about  _ swimming _ and how neither twin was allowed in here unless with an adult. The library bored them both, only briefly distracted by the busts of Jedi Masters. Obi-Wan had paused by Qui-Gon’s, muttering, “I wonder where he’s got off to,” before refocusing on their investigations. In the training rooms, Leia ran around and around the open spaces in excitement before leaping onto the mat and laughing when a plume of dust exploded out from beneath her. New, fun activity discovered, both twins spent some time throwing themselves at the mats until they had to remove Luke from the room due to sneezing. Leia also enjoyed the classrooms and spent some time fiddling with the computers after Obi-Wan and Anakin were done with them. Luke just used the whole time to climb the chairs until he discovered some training devices and began floating them around the room, the twins tossing the object back and forth to one another. By the time they got into the server room, the twins’ energy level were fading and Obi-Wan ended up carrying Luke in his arms while Leia hung off of Anakin’s arm, grumbling about being hungry.

That, of course, brought their initial investigation to a close. There was still miles of the Temple to explore, but both parents agreed that perhaps taking the twins with them was not the way to go about their search next time. If nothing else, however, they had begun a very important step in putting the Temple back together.

They took a detour past the kitchens, pulling together a selection of sandwiches—the twins were very closely monitored for fillings; no one had forgotten the adventurous picnic on Tatooine—before they took their food back to their rooms and dropped off half of the sandwiches with Sinker and Boost to feed everyone else.

The four of them ate together in the privacy of their quarters while Luke and Leia pestered the adults with questions about the Temple. Previously, their fathers talk of the Temple when they were still on Tatooine had not interested them in the slightest, but now that they were  _ here  _ and it was  _ tangible,  _ both younglings wanted to know  _ everything _ . 

After they had eaten and the twins had run away to play in their room, Anakin sat on the couch and stared at Obi-Wan’s back. He was leaning over the small desk in the corner, reading through something and noting things down on the holo-pad he’d been using earlier. 

It felt familiar. 

If they weren’t in a room that was clearly part of the Jedi Temple, they could have been home on Tatooine with Obi-Wan studiously working on something for the rebellion. Now the rebellion had accomplished its mission and—

He blinked suddenly, a realisation striking through his thoughts like a bolt of lightning.

Anakin stood up from the couch and slowly approached the back of the chair.

“So,” Anakin said, sidling up to Obi-Wan, curving over the low back of the chair and wrapping his arms around the other man’s shoulders to lean against his back and rest his head on Obi-Wan’s.

“Hmmm?” Obi-Wan asked, still focused on writing but leaning back into Anakin.

“Sidious is gone and the galaxy is back to normal.” 

“True?”

“Well. We’re back in the Core and everything’s fine.”

Obi-Wan paused, tuning his head to try and look at him. “Anakin, you’re hedging around something, what is it?”

“Marry me?”

Obi-Wan went still, his blue-green eyes widening and staring in shock at Anakin.

Anakin immediately began panicking, his mouth running away from him. “I did say I would wait but you said something about it being Core-legal and we’ve kind of solved that problem and I thought that maybe now would be okay and we’ve all been dating for like four years and surely—”

“—Yes,” Obi-Wan said, smiling and twisting in the chair. “Of course, Anakin.”

All the breath left Anakin’s body in a rush, staring blankly at Obi-Wan for a moment. Then he moved, stepping around the chair and pulling Obi-Wan up to him, a loopy smile on his lips. 

“Yeah?"

Obi-Wan chuckled, bringing his hand up to frame Anakin’s face, his fingers gripping just below his ears. “ _ Yes _ , Anakin.”

“Okay. I just wanted to hear it again,” Anakin said, leaning forward to rest their foreheads together. 

Obi-Wan leant in, whispering, “ _ Yes _ , _ ”  _ against his lips.

Anakin wasted no time in kissing him back, slotting their mouths together and leaning into the embrace. The contact sizzled its way down Anakin’s spine, desire and excitement mingling together to create a heady potion within his body. He just wanted  _ closer _ . He wanted to kiss Obi-Wan until he couldn’t breathe. Obi-Wan kissed back with equal enthusiasm, his hands grasping at Anakin’s shirt and clutching him closer, a contented hum in the back of his throat. Anakin drank down the sound, tongue working its way into his lover’s mouth, demanding affection.

After one brief stumble, Anakin managed to wedge his partner on the edge of the desk, their legs slotting together perfectly. Anakin’s hands worked their way beneath Obi-Wan’s shirt, relishing the warm feeling of skin against skin, a nervous fluttering beginning to blossom in his chest.

“Hey, I’m home,” Padmé called, the whirring of the door just audible. There was a brief earthquake as two sets of feet dashed out of their bedroom and straight at their mother. Anakin noticed it, but didn’t bother to focus on it. Obi-Wan was taking up far too much of his brain space just now; warm and willing and all his. He was distantly aware of Padmé speaking to the twins.

Anakin doubled down, crowding himself against Obi-Wan, his hands sinking lower to grip his lover’s thighs and hitch them ever closer together. Obi-Wan let out a contented sigh against Anakin’s mouth, tilting his head to find a better angle. Anakin went with him, following his lead for a moment before dragging his mouth up the corner of his lips before setting a course of exploration towards his jaw, basking in the way it made Obi-Wan sigh and clutch him ever closer.

“Hello gentlemen,” Padmé greeted and Anakin finally released Obi-Wan.

“Hello,” Obi-Wan said, leaning around Anakin to look at Padmé. Anakin turned his head to see her looking at them affectionately. “How was your day?”

“Utterly hectic. There’s also something I need to discuss with you both, if you’re not too preoccupied?” she replied with a crooked smile.

“Alright,” Obi-Wan replied, and tapped Anakin’s shoulder. “Off you get.”

Anakin pouted, but stepped back, his fingers lingering on Obi-Wan’s thighs for just a little longer. Seeming to take pity on him, Obi-Wan stood up and kissed him again while twining their fingers together before leading him to sit on the couch with Padmé.

“So, while Bail and I were going through all my  _ thrilling _ resurrection paperwork today, we realised the twins don’t have birth certificates.”

“That’s a slight issue,” Anakin said.

“Yes,” Padmé agreed, nodding. “Getting them forged shouldn’t be too hard at least, I contacted Kix earlier and he said Brato can do that easily.”

“What’s the issue then?” Obi-Wan asked.

“We need to finish naming the twins.”

“What?” Anakin asked.

Padmé sighed. “They have first names. We never chose a last name, or middle names for that matter.”

Obi-Wan and Anakin looked at each other for a moment, Anakin able to tell they were both feeling a very strong sense of  _ ‘What do we do here? What does she want us to say? _ ’

Padmé sighed, looking between them. “Oh stop panicking, both of you. It’s not a trick question.”

They both just looked back at her.

“Gods help me,” Padmé muttered. “Look. I was thinking that since they were born on Tatooine that they should be Skywalkers. Also, I did choose their first names so that seems fair and I haven’t gotten the vibe that you’d want them to be Kenobi’s—”

Obi-Wan jumped in with, “Well, technically, they’re—”

“—Obi-Wan if you finish that sentence I  _ will _ be forced to murder you,” Padmé said flatly and Obi-Wan smartly snapped his mouth shut. “I was hoping that you’d perhaps choose middle names.” She paused. “Or we can do literally anything else. What do the both of you think?”

“I think I would like them to be Skywalkers,” Anakin said softly. He liked the connection to his planet and his mother. That someone would carry on his family name warmed something unnamed and indescribable in his heart. “Also the middle name idea is nice.”

“Obi-Wan?” Padmé pressed when he continued to be silent.

“Sorry, I was thinking,” he said, blinking. “How long would I have to pick?”

Padmé made an apologetic face. “A couple of hours? I promised Kix I would get back to him as soon as I can, we need the certificates tomorrow. Sorry.”

“No, that’s okay. We probably should have thought of this  _ before _ they were five years old.”

Padmé nodded, smiling. “That’s fair.”

“Also,” Anakin jumped in, “I officially just proposed, so…wedding?”

Padmé snorted. “I hope you’re both okay to have it on Naboo because if we do  _ anything else _ we will all be banned from my family.”

“I thought that might be the case,” Anakin said. “Though I’d also be down with tomorrow.”

“The three of us are not doing what we did, Ani,” Padmé replied, though she was smiling at him. “We will have something official we can invite our friends and family to and it will be lovely.” She chewed on her lower lip. “If we push everything though the Senate relatively quickly though, we could feasibly get married within six months,” Padmé said slowly. “If I put Sola and Mother on the case they would be able to handle the Naboo end of things.”

“Did you not want to wait on the rest of you and Obi-Wan’s wedding outfits?” Anakin asked. “Six months seems rather short for the rate you two were going at.” An understatement. Neither Obi-Wan or Padmé had gotten any more items of clothing for one another since the shawl. Obi-Wan had bought Padmé a tunic in Mos Espa, but that didn’t seem like a wedding gift and Anakin was fairly sure he heard Padmé request the thing. Regardless, he didn’t want to hurry either of them if they wanted to do it the proper way.

“Kriff that,” Padmé said. “The gesture was lovely but I’d rather just marry Obi-Wan sooner.”

Obi-Wan looked up at that, a bright smile in his eyes. “Good to know we’re on the same page there.”

“Also, I’d rather like to marry you in front of some actual people this time,” Padmé said to Anakin. “And no, Artoo and Threepio definitely don’t count.” She paused. “You know I’d bet that little astromech filmed the ceremony given all the footage he showed us that he’d covertly taken at the Rebel summit. We should get some stills framed. That dress was a masterpiece and I’m  _ still _ devastated no-one saw it.”

“You did look stunning,” Anakin said. “You can’t just wear it again?”

The look of affront she tossed him ruled that suggestion out entirely.

“Okay. I have it,” Obi-Wan said, jumping back into the previous conversation. “The middle names, that is, and, ah, assuming you like them, I was thinking Satine for Leia and Prestor for Luke?”

“Prestor?” Anakin asked, frowning.

“It’s Bail’s middle name,” Obi-Wan explained. “Considering how much he has done for us and the galaxy, it seemed appropriate. As for Satine, well, I think it would be a nice way to honour her memory. Also Leia does remind me of her sometimes.” There was a faint smile in his eyes as he said it, his gaze sliding to the door to the twins bedroom. 

“Would you have really left the Order if Satine had asked?” Anakin asked. He’d always wanted to know, but Obi-Wan had been so stone-walled about it at the time, and then it had never really come up again. Then she had died and it just seemed disrespectful.

Obi-Wan looked up. “Yes, I would have. But then, neither of us did; we were both too focused on our ideals and our missions.”

Anakin was silent, thinking that through.

“I would have left if you had ever asked me to, Anakin.” He laughed. “Sith Hells, I was going to just follow you out the door if you ever left, regardless of asking.”

Anakin felt the truth of that statement though their bond and it utterly floored him. He would never get over the way he had somehow been so completely blind to the way Obi-Wan loved him back before the end of the war. Unable to find the right words, Anakin just smiled at him, shoving the most immense feeling of love and gratitude that he could along their bond.

“Okay, if you’re both done being  _ romantic _ ?”

Obi-Wan sighed. “I suppose.”

“Nope,” Anakin replied, stood up, walked over to Padmé and climbed onto her lap, his knees on either side of her thighs. 

She smiled and kissed him, before giving him a little shove. “I love you too, but let’s get back to the matter at hand. I’m on a time limit here.”

Anakin sighed theatrically, and fell from her lap to land on the rest of the couch, doing his best to look utterly rejected. He pouted when Obi-Wan caught his eye.

Padmé patted him on the leg. “Careful, or you’ll accidentally win some kind of holo-drama award. Now, are we all happy with the name choices? I think they’re lovely, personally.”

Anakin nodded where he lay. “I think so too.”

Obi-Wan smiled at them both, the worry falling away from his face to be replaced with clear happiness.

“Okay, well, I’d better call Kix back,” Padmé said, standing up. “No time like the present to forge some birth certificates.”

“I’ll help,” Anakin said pulling himself up from the couch. “I wanted to ask how the pack-up was going. Also I need to speak to Plo about how many rooms we should make up.”

“I wanted to go check out a few more areas in the Temple,” Obi-Wan said. “There’s a few key locations I want to look at.”

Anakin nodded. “We’ll see you later then.” He leant down for one final, lingering kiss, his hands coming to rest on Obi-Wan’s shoulders.

“See you both later,” Obi-Wan agreed and watched them leave the room.

Anakin led Padmé through the Temple to one of the communications rooms. He and Obi-Wan hadn’t checked it yet, and Anakin hoped they would have some luck with at least one console being in working order. The first one they tried refused to work in any sense of the word. The second through fifth made some worrying sounds in an attempt to start up before going quiet again. The sixth worked just fine and Anakin noted to himself that he should send Obi-Wan up here to add the whole room to his list.

They booted up the console and dialled their home number on Tatooine.

“Hey Kix, how are you?” Padmé greeted as the medic appeared before them in holographic form.

“Good,” Kix replied, “pretty busy.”

“How’s the pack up going?” Anakin asked.

There was a beat of silence as Kix seemed to weigh up his words. 

“I’m not actually coming to Coruscant with the others,” Kix said suddenly. He sat just a little straighter as he said it, slipping into a more military stance. “I’m staying here.”

Anakin blinked. “Why?”

“I like it here,” Kix said. “The people here need more doctors, and now that everyone in slavery has been freed and their medical needs aren’t up to the whims of their owners, Brato and I are very busy.”

“Well, if it’s what you want,” Anakin said, nodding in understanding. “Keep the house then. I had thought of just selling it, but if you’re going to stay there, you might as well have it. Move some friends in, the place is big enough.”

Kix’s body lost it’s sharp posture, his shoulders dropping and a grin took up his face. “Thanks. I think I might do just that.”

Padmé put her hand on Anakin’s knee. “Perfect. That solves one problem. Now Kix, the three of us have decided on the twins’ names. I’ll type them out now and send them as a message so that we don’t mess up any spellings,” Padmé said as she did exactly that, pulling up another screen and sending the names through.

Kix nodded and became distracted for a moment as he opened up the correspondence on his end.

“Nice choices,” he said, his eyes flicking over the names. “Brato gave me the mostly completed forms, so I can throw them together pretty quickly. Did you want to speak to anyone else while I do it?”

“Plo, Luminara, or Rex if they’re around?” Anakin asked.

“Plo’s here,” Kix said. “Rex is in town with Luminara. I’ll go get Plo and then finish these forms.”

“Thank you again, Kix, and please thank Brato again for me,” Padmé said.

Kix nodded and then vanished from the hologram and Padmé and Anakin waited quietly for a couple of minutes. Padmé’s forehead was frowning, her hand fiddling with her lower lip as she clearly lost herself in thought. Anakin was caught on the fact that Kix was staying on Tatooine. On one hand, he was  _ glad _ that Kix was happy and had found something he wanted to keep doing with his life. On the other, Anakin would definitely miss him. Well, he supposed they would just have to visit. Anakin should probably also visit…oh! Anakin’s mind finally tripped over the fact he should contact Owen and Beru.

“I’m going to hop onto another terminal for a bit,” Padmé said, startling Anakin from his thoughts. “I figure I don’t need to be involved in this chat, and Bail said he had sent me a few articles to look at.”

Anakin nodded and watched Padmé slip onto another chair and fire up the terminal. Anakin returned his focus to the empty blue fuzz before him. Then the scarred visage of his favourite Kel Dor slid onto the screen.

“Hey Plo,” Anakin greeted with a wave. “How’s everything going?”

“Excellently,” Plo replied, his antiox mask distorting the sound quality of the call even more. “We nearly have everything packed and ready to go. The children are mostly excited to be coming home, Caleb in particular is looking forward to it. Zaria seems indifferent and Zatt and Aulu seem to be a little torn on how to feel about it.”

“That’s part of what I wanted to discuss with you,” Anakin said. “We wanted to start clearing out rooms so they’re ready for your arrival. We’re all in the lower Master-Padawan quarters with the small communal areas, so I wanted to know how many rooms you think you’ll need.”

Plo nodded slowly. “How many rooms are you all in?”

“Between us and the clones? Four.”

“Four rooms will also do us then,” Plo said thoughtfully. “It should be fine for now. We can always adjust if we need to.”

“Sure,” Anakin replied, “we’ll get that done. Do you know how far away you all are?”

“I would estimate a week.”

“Excellent. It will be good to have you all back with us.”

Plo’s face crinkled happily, the Kel Dor’s voice warm as he said, “It will be wonderful to be home. I have missed the Temple. I also heard a rumour from Rex and Appo that you picked up Boost and Sinker?”

“We did yes, or rather your Wolfpack and the others found Obi-Wan and Padmé.”

“If you wouldn’t mind, please tell them both that Wolffe and I are very much looking forward to seeing them again.” Anakin nodded in agreement, unable to resist a small smile. ”Also, your friend Kitster came by a couple of days ago looking for you,” Plo said. “I informed him that you were on Coruscant and he requested you contact him when you could. It didn’t seem urgent.”

“Oh. Thank you. I’ll do that now.”

Kix suddenly shoved himself back into frame, Plo shuffling aside to accommodate the doctor. “All done,” Kix said proudly. “I’m just attaching the files now…” he trailed off for a moment, frowning and clearly fiddling with the console. “And done.”

“Thank you, Kix.”

Kix sent him a thumbs up.

Plo gave Anakin a solemn nod and a small wave. “May the Force be with you.”

“And with you all.”

“And Anakin?” Plo said, and waited until Anakin was looking at him before he added, “Thank you.”

With a very self-satisfied expression on Plo’s face and a roll of Kix’s eyes, Plo hung up the call.

Anakin shook his head. He’d better call Kitster then.

Anakin slowly inputted the planet code and local number from memory, hoping he wasn’t misremembering any of the details. When Kitster’s upper body appeared before him, he let out a sigh of relief and greeted his childhood friend.

“Hey Kitster.”

“Ani!” Kitster exclaimed, blinking quickly before breaking out into a wide smile. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d fallen into a black hole. I heard from your friend that you’re on Coruscant?”

“Yeah I am, it seemed like the thing to do after we, um,” Anakin dropped off as he spoke, unsure how much he could say.

“Overthrew the Hutts and killed the Emperor?” Kitster suggested mildly.

Anakin hummed noncommittally in response.

“Thank you again, by the way, we never could have gotten this far without you.”

Anakin perked up again. “How is it all going?”

“Great, actually,” Kitster said happily, “we managed to  _ deal with _ the worst of the slavers still left in town, and the rest we  _ convinced _ to let their ‘property’ go free. Given the offered alternative, most didn’t resist.”

“That’s good.”

“It is. We also managed to get everyone into safe accommodations and begin looking for real work. We at least had enough credits stashed away that those who need food will be looked after until we can get Tatooine properly back on its feet, which brings me to my next point.” The freedom fighter hesitated for a moment.

“Plo said you had something you wanted to talk about?” Anakin pressed.

“Yes a couple of things; what do you know about this Hondo person?” Kitster asked. “I know you said that he wouldn’t be another Jabba but…”

“He’s a weirdo?”

“He’s certainly something,” Kitster sighed. 

Anakin smiled. “Hondo is…relatively trustworthy. He won’t go back on his word, but he may be a nuisance if the mood takes him. I’d personally describe him as a menace, but not evil. Why? What’s he done?”

“Well, he came into town nearly a week back, after we’d overthrown the other slavers, with a few  _ choice _ bodies from Jabba’s palace,” Kitster explained. “He declared himself the Pirate King of Tatooine and then said that anyone who wanted a paying job and an exciting life of piracy to join him. A surprising number of people did.”

Anakin thought it a smart move on Hondo’s part. A lot of slaves would be very happy to take on any kind of paying job, moral ambiguity be damned. Getting food in mouths and keeping families in homes and together was more important.

“Let me know if he ever becomes a problem, but he always looked after his people back when he still had a real crew.” Anakin said. “He’ll probably keep to himself though.”

Kitster nodded thoughtfully. ”That’s good to know. Also,” Kitster paused. “Well, we’ve set up the beginnings of a government here. We all think the best way to make sure it happens  _ and  _ stays that way is to join the Republic. If nothing else, it affords us a bit more protection.”

Padmé, clearly having been listening, suddenly slid back into the chair beside Anakin. “Hi, you must be Kitster,” Padmé said brightly, giving his friend a wave. 

Kitster’s hologram blinked a few times, looking seriously at Padmé. Anakin suddenly realised that Kitster hadn’t met Padmé on Tatooine, but must at least partly remember her from their childhood. If nothing else, Anakin talked about her enough that Kitster should be able to put the pieces together. 

“If that’s the path you want to take, I’d be able to help,” Padmé continued. “It’s a complicated process, and you need to gain an endorsement from three existing Republic planets to even be considered.”

Kitster’s face looked more stressed with every word.

Padmé continued on. “It’s not impossible, so don’t worry. I have enough contacts who would be happy to do such a thing. I’ll get Anakin to give me your contact number and will send through all the necessary documents for you and whoever is helping you to start reading through. Then when you know exactly what you want to do, you can contact us and I’ll help walk you through the proceedings.”

“That would be…most appreciated,” Kitster said slowly. “Thank you Padmé.”

“It’s no problem,” she replied with a smile. “I’ll leave you two to finish catching up.”

He and Kitster did just that, mainly discussing the more detailed issues of Tatooine’s newly freed population and planning the next few steps together. They had created a vague plan for what to do if they reached this point, but like the planning Anakin had done with the Jedi about the future of the Order, it had been sketchy at best since the possibility of it happening had seemed so far off. They discussed initiatives and funding possibilities, while Padmé occasionally chimed in with the names of humanitarian organisations and news outlets they could get in touch with to help bolster support for the planet and those most in need. Slowly, their conversation wore down, and Kitster had to run off elsewhere; it seemed he had become a very busy man in the past couple of weeks.

The conversation he had with Owen, when he finally got the connection to work, was much simpler. His step-brother had been excited to see Anakin, and ravenous for accurate news on the events in the galaxy. He was an avid audience, spouting anger and outrage at the twins’ kidnapping, before dropping into a concerned silence as Anakin relayed some of the rest of the story, before pointing out that Owen should keep most of this to himself. Owen had nodded seriously and expressed his condolences that any of them had had to deal with such a mess.

“At least you get to go home now,” Owen said. “It must be nice to be back on Coruscant.”

“It’s…strange,” Anakin replied honestly. He paused, trying to figure out how best to word his next questions. “If you ever want to visit, or perhaps, move off Tatooine permanently, do let me know.”

Owen gave Anakin a slow, warm smile that reached his eyes. “I appreciate the offer Anakin, and I’ll discuss it with Beru, though I think she’ll want to stay.” He shrugged. “Besides, the planet seems to have lost a lot of scum over the past few weeks, and I think it’s worth sticking around to see what happens to Tatooine. Things are looking better here than they have in a long time.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“It’s a welcome change.” Owen sighed in a way that suggested an end to their conversation. “Well, if you ever come back our way, we’d love to see you and the kids again; don’t be a stranger, Anakin, we are family.”

“Thank you, Owen,” Anakin replied, smiling. “We’ll take you up on that."

They wrapped up their talk with well wishes and goodbyes before the room descended into silence, bar for the quiet tapping of Padmé working away on the other terminal.

“All done?” she asked, turning in her chair and glancing at Anakin.

Anakin nodded, stretching in his seat, feeling stiff at sitting here for so long. “Yeah. Kix said he’d sent through the kids paperwork.”

“Oh! Let’s take a look then,” Padmé said excitedly, coming back over to sit with Anakin.

They found the documents easily enough, Padmé quickly copying them onto a holodrive to take with her to the Senate tomorrow. Anakin stared down at the two documents on the screen,  _ Luke Prestor Skywalker _ and  _ Leia Satine Skywalker  _ staring back at him. He also adored the way that Obi-Wan was listed as a parent on the form, both of their names next to one another under  _ Father(s) _ . It was a very nice touch; trust Kix to know exactly what they needed. 

The two documents soothed Anakin’s soul in a way he couldn’t really put into words. 

It just felt  _ right _ .

* * *

Anakin woke up feeling restless.

It had begun like a crawling feeling sometime yesterday evening, and slowly settled into his bones. Then he had had another rough night, waking up cold and breathless with Sidious’ voice in his head. He’d felt helpless and scared; disoriented for a few minutes as to where he was. He had escaped their bedroom and stood shaking in the living room. Somehow, he had managed to keep his shields up and not disturb anyone else. He’d paced around the room until Padmé appeared in the doorway. When asked what was wrong, he’d managed to stammer out some garbled explanation about feeling unsettled and worried about the memories and  _ no he didn’t want to talk about the specifics _ . Padmé had nodded slowly, concern still evident in her eyes, but instead she’d curled up with him on the couch and the two of them had talked about wedding ideas until Anakin had passed out in her arms.

When he came to again, Luke and Leia were dressed and sitting on the opposite couch, the both of them looking cleaner and more groomed than Anakin thought they had ever been in their lives. He had no idea how long they’d been there, and he was confused as to how they hadn’t woken him. He frowned.

Sitting up and looking around revealed Obi-Wan and Padmé leaning up against the kitchen bench, tea in hand and quietly talking together, Obi-Wan still in sleep wear while Padmé was dressed up much like the twins. They both looked up as he moved from the couch.

“Morning,” Obi-Wan said, taking a sip of his tea.

“Good morning, darling,” Padmé greeted. “How are you feeling.”

Anakin shrugged. He was tired and something unnamed still sat uncomfortably in his chest.

“Hm. Well, I’m going to take the twins with me today,” Padmé said, worry resurfacing in her gaze. “We need photos for the both of them to go with their files once we’ve submitted their birth certificates.” She sighed. “Also, you both should probably be prepared for the media. Bail and I are doing our best to keep it all relatively quiet, but I can’t promise anything.” Padmé took a sip of her tea and mumbled grumpily into her cup, “You know they’re already wildly excited that I’m still alive, I cannot imagine how they’re going to take the fact that not only am I alive, I have two children with two rather attractive baby-daddies.

Obi-Wan’s head came around at that, his forehead wrinkling as he looked at her.

Padmé grinned up at him. “Oh, did I forget to mention I asked for both you and Anakin listed as their fathers?”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan replied, before turning his attention on Anakin. “Did you know about this?”

Anakin inclined his head. “I saw the documents yesterday.”

There was a gap of silence.

“Is that okay?” Padmé asked, more hesitant than before. “We can change it if you want?”

“No, no,” Obi-Wan stuttered out, his cheeks heating. “It’s fine—lovely even. I just…I wasn’t expecting it.”

Padmé gave him a long, serious look, before casually saying, “One day you’re going to accept that they’re as much yours as they are mine or Anakin's and stop second guessing yourself, you gorgeous, clever, insecure man.”

Obi-Wan just huffed out a laugh, stroking nervously at his chin. “I know they are, I just…didn’t expect that to be recognised legally.”

“Hmm, too bad,” Anakin noted lightly, and Obi-Wan threw him an exasperated look.

Glancing at the clock, Padmé’s eyes widened. “Damn, got to go.” She gulped the rest of her drink and dumped the mug in the sink. “Luke! Leia! It’s time to go!”

Luke let out an excited yell, and both twins came running into the kitchen with shining grins and sparkling eyes. 

“Do try to keep out of trouble, both of you,” Padmé said to her current and soon-to-be husbands as she ushered the kids out the door. “See you tonight!"

The morning passed slowly, Anakin still feeling off-kilter and unsure of what to do about it. He did his best to keep himself busy, flitting from reading on the couch to lying on the floor and designing technology in his head to sitting at the small desk and trying to find that peaceful feeling he’d experienced yesterday in the moment that Obi-Wan said  _ yes _ .

Obi-Wan kept sending him concerned glances that he probably thought were inconspicuous, but really  _ weren’t, _ and it was only serving to make Anakin feel more on edge.

“Spar?” Anakin suggested finally, just needing  _ something _ . Training had always been good for clearing his head.

Obi-Wan nodded and the two changed into something more appropriate for combat and rounded up their sabres. They entered the nearest training room they’d investigated the day before, the room still unbelievably dusty, but these matts were definitely in the best condition compared to the others.

Anakin and Obi-Wan stretched in silence, Anakin slipping into a light meditation to centre himself before they began. At an unheard signal, the pair faced one another and took opening stances. Anakin waited.

Obi-Wan moved first, stepping forward with a investigative swing at Anakin’s defences. He batted the blade away easily, dancing around Obi-Wan and striking back. Plumes of dust and dirt exploded beneath each of their steps, their footwork flawless as they danced back and forth, trading blows. Obi-Wan’s brows were furrowed with focus, contrasting with the faint smile on his lips and in his eyes as they practiced. Anakin suddenly twisted his blade with a flourish, taking the advantage, and disarming Obi-Wan in a split second, before knocking his legs out from under him, sending his fiancé to the floor, dust curling up into the air around him. Taking the advantage, Anakin threw one leg over Obi-Wan’s hips, pinning one hand with his free one, and holding his saber a few breaths above Obi-Wan.

“Yield.”

Obi-Wan smiled proudly at him, a warm hand coming to slide up to Anakin’s knee. “I yield; you win.”

He wanted to kiss Obi-Wan. 

He  _ couldn’t _ . 

Anakin frowned and shook his head, the shaky feeling returning. 

This hadn’t kriffing worked.

He was up and heading out the door before he could really think. 

“I need a shower,” Anakin said over his shoulder.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan called after him.

Anakin returned to their rooms and was undressed and in the shower within moments. He just needed to… _ kriff, _ he didn’t even know what. He was running on auto-pilot and that said ‘shower comes after spar’ but his heart longed for something else he couldn’t place and his whole body felt shaken. He was filled with so many conflicting emotions that he couldn’t even pick one out of the mess to start with. Anakin shoved his face into the warm spray of water and did his best to let his mind go blank.

“Anakin?”

Anakin opened his eyes and turned to look at Obi-Wan standing on the other side of the glass, still in the same clothes from their spar.

“Is everything okay?”

On impulse, he pulled open the glass door, grabbed Obi-Wan by the hand, and dragged him into the shower with him. Anakin then let instinct guide him, wrapping his arms around Obi-Wan and trying to kiss the concern off of his face. 

He just wanted everything to go back to how it was. 

Obi-Wan kissed back for a moment, clearly trying to slow Anakin down, refusing to meet the pace and fervour Anakin was bestowing upon him. Anakin attempted to press forward, searching for peace and quiet in his own mind, trying to bring Obi-Wan closer to him, trying—. His lover resisted him, giving up and pulling his mouth away, fixing Anakin with a concerned stare.

“Anakin, what do you need?” Obi-Wan asked, his hands cradling Anakin’s head, their mouths still only inches apart. “Please let me help you, my love.”

“I don’t know,” Anakin replied, leaning in closer so that Obi-Wan was leaning up against the wall of the shower, with Anakin plastered to his front. “Everything just feels wrong and I don’t know what it is, and I keep having those awful flashbacks about Sidious, and I just feel like I’m—like I’m too full. There’s too much. I just don’t know what to  _ do _ .” His voice cracked on the last word, his hands tightening in Obi-Wan’s increasingly wet clothes.

“Okay,” Obi-Wan breathed out, clutching Anakin to himself. “Let’s work this back,” Obi-Wan said, running a rand up and down Anakin’s slick back. “Padmé said you had nightmare last night?”

Anakin nodded against his partner’s damp skin.

“Same as on the ship?”

“Yes.”

Obi-Wan kissed the side of his face, rivulets of water flowing over the gesture. “What upset you about our spar?” he asked. "You vanished pretty suddenly.”

Anakin frowned. “I wanted to kiss you.”

There was a pause. “Okay. Why couldn’t you?”

“I don’t know. Something felt wrong.”

Anakin felt a warm, wet hand grip his chin. A firm pressure guided Anakin’s head up to stare into gentle blue-green eyes. 

“May I?”

Anakin nodded and felt lips meet his. Their mouths moved together with lazy affection, Obi-Wan soon slipping his tongue into Anakin’s mouth. Anakin leant into it, tilting his head just a little and pressing back insistently. This was what he needed. Obi-Wan felt like home, warm and affectionate and safe. Warmth began curling through his body, spreading outwards from his heart and stomach. 

Then Obi-Wan was pulling away, asking, “Was that okay?”

“Yeah. Very much okay.” Truly excellent in Anakin’s opinion, and it was frustratingly unhelpful in solving his main issue. Also, he would rather like to follow that line of inquiry some more.

“Interesting.”

“You’re very overdressed for this shower,” Anakin noted, glancing down at the sopping wet clothes clinging to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan stared up at him, smiling. “And I wonder whose fault that is.”

“We could always  _ remove _ the wet clothes?” Anakin suggested, canting his hips just a little, letting a wicked smile grace his lips.

“Maybe.” Obi-Wan’s eyes then seemed to click away from him, his thoughts clearly taking him somewhere.

Anakin took the time to lean back into his partner, feeling at least some of his anxiety dissipating along with the shower water. If nothing else, it made him feel better knowing that Obi-Wan wanted to help him figure this all out—

“Is it the Temple?” Obi-Wan asked, suddenly back in the room.

Anakin blinked. “What?”

“The Temple,” Obi-Wan repeated. “We’ve been away from it and living a lifestyle that would have been no way acceptable before all of this. I’ve felt a little uncomfortable, particularly when you kissed me after your proposal yesterday, as much as I enjoyed it. I felt...how to explain.” Obi-Wan paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “It was rather jarring; my old life confronting my new one like that. I’m wondering whether you’re getting some very conflicting feelings given how…confining you’ve always found the Temple.”

Anakin paused, thinking it over. “That…yeah, that makes sense.” His mind ticked over another idea. “I was so used to working, fixing things for people. I don’t—I don’t feel useful here.”

“So between Sidious and the change in lifestyle…I’d imagine you’re feeling rather out of control,” Obi-Wan mused, seemingly more to himself than Anakin.

“When the hell did you get so good at emotions,” Anakin muttered.

Anakin felt a kiss being pressed to his temple. “I learnt from the best.”

Anakin’s cheeks heated at the comment.

“I suppose I could help you out, if you wanted,” Obi-Wan suggested after a moment with a hint of fire in his voice. “We can find you some repair jobs to do, and have a kissing excursion around the temple—to help you acclimatise of course. Practice does, of course, make perfect.” Anakin smiled, and felt a hand slide purposefully down his back, warmth rising in Anakin’s chest. “We could also further discuss that little idea you had about getting me out of these wet clothes?”

Anakin growled, pressing forward and properly pinning Obi-Wan to the shower wall. “That can be arranged,” Anakin muttered, mouthing at Obi-Wan’s jaw.

Anakin felt his world re-orient itself slowly, finally having an outlet into which he could channel his uncertainties, carefully being wrapped up in the feeling that everything was heading in the right direction again. This was an excellent diversion and was doing a lot to soothe his worries. 

Anakin lost himself in his lover, first through burning kisses and inquisitive fingers, before turning Obi-Wan around pressing him into the wall until Anakin could hear nothing but his own name echoing against the tiles.

After, the two of them sat together in the bottom of the shower, exhausted and very satisfied, Anakin turning over a few thoughts in his mind.

“I think I’m ready to try and talk about Sidious,” Anakin said softly. It wasn’t an entirely true statement; he didn’t  _ want _ to talk about it, but he knew he had to or it was going to eat him from the inside-out. If nothing else, he should try talking about the less horrifying stuff first, and work his way up to the things that kept him awake at night. “Once the kids are in bed, I’d like to try talking to you both about it.”

Obi-Wan kissed him again. “I think that’s a good idea, my love.”

The two of them remained tangled together for a while longer, letting the water wash away the evidence of their activities and their worries. Anakin felt guilty about the water wastage, he still wasn’t quite used to not worrying about it. Water had been such a precious resource on Tatooine, and the last five years has reinforced his old childhood views about it.

“You know what was funny about the whole thing though?” Anakin muttered, resting his head a against Obi-Wan’s chest.

Obi-Wan hummed thoughtfully, his hand tracing swirls up Anakin’s thigh. “I can’t imagine many things. What?”

“Sidious tried to use his old tactics to try and get me to turn against you and Padmé,” he said, a smirk growing on his face. “He pointed out the way you held Padmé’s hand when he made me join him, going back into the old spiel of how the two of you are sneaking around and casually discussing all the things the two of you could be doing behind my back.” Anakin laughed. “It was so hard to keep him from finding out the truth and to stop myself from saying that I had personally seen you two doing all sorts of illicit things on a rather frequent basis. Often  _ and  _ enthusiastically, where I could see.”

A choked laugh burst from Obi-Wan, his chest movement jostling Anakin. “I would have loved to have seen his expression if he ever had found out about the sorts of things I have done with your wife. Things I would be glad to do again.”

Anakin laughed. “Soon she’ll be your wife too,” Anakin pointed out when he could breathe again.

“That she will,” Obi-Wan replied, leaning his head down to kiss the top of Anakin’s head. “And it looks like I will also be getting a wonderful husband.”

Anakin felt himself flush; the thought pleased him right down to his core. That he would be able to call Obi-Wan  _ his husband _ was just so far beyond anything he could have ever thought he could have in his life.

“I love you too,” Anakin muttered.

“I hope you know that you made Bail cry, Obi-Wan,” Padmé said a few hours later as she walked through the door with Luke and Leia trotting in behind her. Obi-Wan and Anakin were dry again and relaxing on the couch together while Obi-Wan continued to work on his list. “He got one look at the birth certificates and then I nearly died in the world’s biggest, wettest hug.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “I’m glad he liked the choice then.”

“I told him it was yours, so do expect him to corner you too at some point,” Padmé added. “Did you two keep out of trouble?”

Anakin made a non-committal grunt and Obi-Wan wriggled his hand in a ‘so-so’ motion. 

“We sorted it out,” Obi-Wan assured Padmé at her concerned frown. “How was your day?”

“So cool!” Luke exclaimed. “We gotta see the city an’ go to the Sen’it and I gotta meet Bail for  _ real _ .”

“Was it good?” Anakin asked. “Not too boring?”

Leia shook her head emphatically. “There were so many people!  _ So _ many! An’ Bail was so  _ nice  _ an’ so many people wanted to talk to Mum and it was  _ amazing _ .”

That evening, after they’d eaten dinner in the hall with the clone contingent, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé sat around on their bed in a circle, Obi-Wan with a cup of tea cradled in his hands, while Padmé was absently plaiting her hair into tiny strands. Anakin was trying to breathe deeply. 

It took time, and he had to start over twice until he could find the words, but ever so slowly, Anakin talked about Sidious. He started with the slightly easier things; the orders given, the deceptions, the lies… they all turned his stomach. Obi-Wan and Padmé listened quietly beside him, just letting Anakin talk. Padmé’s jaw was tight through the whole two hours while her eyes remained soft, with her eyebrows upturned in disquiet. He did feel better after though. Tired and emotionally drained, but lighter. Sleep still took a while to come though.

Over the following nights when Anakin felt up to it, he talked about it more, slowly dipping into the darker things he’d seen: the murders, the tortures, the kriffing  _ genocides _ …Fives. Anakin had cried through that particular retelling, the guilt gripping his chest tight enough to hurt as he spoke of Palpatine doing everything he could to make Fives’ claims about the inhibitor chips become the ravings of a mad clone, goading the trooper into attacking him. Obi-Wan shuffled closer and tucked Anakin under his arm, twining their fingers together in a show of silent support.

He still couldn’t bring himself to talk about all of it, some events just catching in his throat. The Temple was one of those memories. He hadn’t had that memory before, but he had it now, and he desperately wished he didn’t. 

* * *

A few days later, Anakin walked into the communications room to fix a few of the malfunctioning computers, when he found Padmé hunched over one of the terminals, her hand over her mouth as her shoulders shook and she cried into the screen.

“Padmé?” Anakin asked, putting down his tools and approaching her slowly.

His wife jumped, her head spinning around to face Anakin, eyes bright and wet in the light of the screen before her as her hand slipped to her chest. “Oh, Anakin,” she said, breathlessly. “You startled me.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, now close enough to rest his hand on the side of her face.

“Nothing,” Padmé said, smiling through her tears. She weakly gestured at the screen. “I just discovered that my old Senate holomail account was never deactivated. It seems people have been using as somewhere to send prayers for years.” She hiccuped, another tear escaping her eye. “I’ve been reading them. Yarro was right that I somehow became some kind of Saint after my ‘death’. For a while, most of the messages were people welcoming me back, and then, far enough back to when I was meant to be dead, and there’s just piles and piles of messages and prayers and thanks and—” she stopped, her breath catching and another sob wrenched itself from her chest.

Anakin crouched down beside her, wrapping his arms about her shoulders and pulling her in to him. Padmé came willingly, leaning into him for a long moment before pulling away and returning her attention to the screen.

Anakin stayed with her as she continued to read them. Messages filled with every emotion imaginable. People writing to her asking for help, for advice, for hope, for love, for family and friends, for the Empire to fall, and more. There were tens of thousands of them, all so personal and filled with the hopes and dreams from so many across the galaxy. They managed to get through another twenty messages before Padmé could barely breathe for the emotions choking her and Anakin had to drag her away.

“You can’t do this to yourself,” Anakin said gently, Padmé pressed up against him and sobbing into his shoulder. “You’re one person, Padmé, and you can only do so much. You’re amazing, but you’re not some omnipotent deity.”

“I know,” she breathed into his neck. “I know. I just wish I could do more.”

“You’ve done more and are still doing more than anyone could ever ask of you.”

Padmé nodded against his skin. 

“I do want to read them all though,” she said. “I owe them that much.”

“Perhaps,” Anakin hedged, “but I think reading them all at once is a bad idea.”

She sighed, tightening her grip on Anakin’s waist. “You’re probably right.”

They spent some time in silence, Padmé taking the time to calm herself down. Her emotions rolled through the Force in waves, cresting every so often before receding into a quieter space each time. Anakin did his best to expel calm into the Force, wrapping Padmé up in the quiet and in his arms.

“What were you doing in here?” she asked finally, pulling away from his embrace and wiping at her face.

“Fixing things,” Anakin said, nodding at the consoles. “There’s a few terminals in here that needed looking at.”

“Do you mind if I stay while you work?” Padmé asked, fidgeting where she sat. “I think I would like some company.”

“Of course.”

Anakin got to work on the computers, fetching his tools from where he’d abandoned them by the door. He set his sights on the one that had looked easiest, cracking the nearby panelling open and searching for the problem. Padmé talked with him while he worked, mostly discussing more about how to go about refitting the temple and how everything in the Senate was going.

Anakin told her how he’d managed to fix the water filtration system in the Room of a Thousand Fountains so that the water was clean and running again. Anakin suggested they start taking the twins in there to learn how to swim. Padmé fell silent, a faint smile crawling along her lips, her eyes far-away as an idea clearly sprung to mind. 

“I don’t trust that smile, Padmé,” Anakin noted, unscrewing another panel and following the faulty wire along the wall.

“You shouldn’t.” A pause. “Are you particularly busy tomorrow?”

Anakin looked up from his work. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Oh good.”

“Why?”

Padmé smiled wider at him, eyes still a little swollen from her earlier tears. “Just something Obi-Wan mentioned.”

Anakin hummed and ignored the way she was clearly trying to bait him. He returned his focus to the issue at hand and continued fixing the wiring.

Of course, he discovered exactly what she was alluding to hours later as they were preparing for bed. Obi-Wan was already settled in with a holopad in his hands, reading something that was causing him to glare at the object. Anakin was just preparing to pull off his clothes and get into his sleeping pants when Padmé appeared, pinning him with an excited look.

“Oh no, darling, put that back on,” she said, tugging Anakin’s shirt back onto his body.

Anakin frowned at her. “Okay?”

“Mind if I steal him for a little while?” Padmé asked Obi-Wan, grabbing Anakin’s hand and giving it a light tug.

“Please do,” Obi-Wan replied, not even looking up from his reading.

Anakin had a faint worry that there was some kind of conspiracy going on here.

“Excellent. Come on, my darling,” Padmé said, pulling Anakin from the room and out of their quarters.

“Padmé, it’s nearly midnight; what are we doing?”

Padmé looked back to grin at him. “It's a surprise.”

Knowing that continuing to ask would get him nowhere, Anakin allowed himself to be led through the Temple. Their steps were muffled as they moved since neither of them were wearing shoes. Anakin watched their shadows dance across the empty hallways, curling around pillars and stalking silently up walls beside them. 

Then they were in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, the quiet rushing of the water alerting Anakin to their location first. This did nothing to help him decipher Padmé’s intentions. She continued to guide him through the space, passing the smaller fountains around the edge and into the heart of the room where the decorative foliage became denser and the fountains larger and more like pools and small lakes.

When they reached the edge of one of the larger bodies of water Padmé turned on him. She lunged, reversing her previous action and pulling Anakin’s shirt over his head with a wicked smile. “Pants too,” she whispered, pulling her own shirt off and making quick work of her pants.

“Are you serious?” Anakin asked, his brain trying and failing to understand exactly what was going on. Padmé seriously could not be asking him to skinny dip in the  _ Temple fountains _ . Padmé just grinned ever wider, solidifying the idea in his mind. “Can I ask why?”

Padmé kicked off her underwear and stood naked and resplendent in the low, blue light of the room. Anakin couldn’t help but appreciate the view for a long moment, his eyes drinking Padmé in. 

“Catch me and find out,” she whispered, before she turned and ran from him, leaping with a excited cry into the nearest pool. A loud splash echoed in the air and Anakin could do nothing but blink after her.

Apparently they  _ were _ doing this. He wondered if Obi-Wan had known the specifics of what Padmé had had in mind. 

Anakin let out a huff of air, caught between excitement and nervousness, and finished pulling of the remainder of his clothes. That done, he followed after Padmé. 

He entered the water with less of a splash, wading in slowly, his eyes tracking around the room for glimpses of movement. In the end, she wasn’t hard to find. Padmé was floating on her back in the centre of the pool. Her eyes were closed as she lazily waved her arms beside her. Most of her body was hidden by the water, but the top of her face, arms, breasts and legs were just visible above the surface.

Anakin swam slowly closer, enjoying the quiet ambiance of the room. He’d never been in here when it had been so empty, and only occasionally been here at night.

Padmé opened her eyes as he approached, turning her head just enough to look at him. “You found me.”

Anakin laughed. “You didn’t seem to be trying very hard to hide.”

Padmé turned her head back and smiled at the ceiling. “It got you in the water though didn’t it.”

Damn. “True. Do I get an answer to my question at least?”

“Yes,” Padmé said, kicking her body back under the water and rotating to face Anakin. “Obi-Wan mentioned that you were having a bit of trouble adjusting to being back in the Temple while having a family and relationships,” Padmé said, her arms sliding through the water to keep herself afloat. “I thought this was both romantic and a little rebellious; it seemed perfect to help you adjust.” She swam a little closer, the light of the water reflecting in her eyes. “Also we haven’t had much time to ourselves recently and I thought we both deserved it.”

Oh.

“Thank you.”

Padmé smiled and swam just close enough to kiss Anakin’s shoulder while keeping her head above the water. “Everything will work itself out, but sometimes it helps to give it a little push. Obi-Wan said he was going to try and kiss you in as many places as possible, so I just figured I could do the same.”

Anakin smiled at her, paddling just a little bit closer. He closed in on Padmé’s body, his hands coming to rest on her hips, supporting himself though the Force. Anakin leant forward, moving to kiss her lips and smiled when he watched her close her eyes. 

He tossed her into the air. Not too high, but enough to make Padmé shriek before she hit the water again.

“You jerk!” she cried as she resurfaced, splashing water in his face as he laughed. “And here I was trying to be  _ romantic _ .”

Anakin just kept laughing, enjoying the wet and outraged face of his wife. 

Then, quick and precise, Padmé launched herself at him, forcefully placing her hands on his shoulders and shoving him down beneath the water. Anakin held his breath as he went under, bubbles rising around him as the cool water enveloped him. He saw Padmé’s figure before him and did the same as before, wrapping his hands around her waist and launching her upwards as he surfaced again. He caught a flash of legs disappearing into the water as he wiped the spray from his face, grinning wildly. He felt a finger poke him in the side as a dark form swam around him beneath the water.

“Rude,” Padmé said, reappearing behind him, with only her head bobbing above the surface. She swatted another half-hearted wall of water at him.

Anakin turned again to smile at her, holding his arms before him in an offering of peace. Padmé continued to glare at him, but allowed herself to be drawn into his embrace again. 

This time, he did actually kiss her, pulling her up from the water and leaning down to press their lips together. Padmé sighed into the kiss, her hands reaching up to rest on his chest, Anakin pulling her in closer until their bodies were lined up together perfectly, with only their legs swaying beneath them.

Anakin felt Padmé’s hand twirl the ends of his hair on her fingers as he pulled away, basking in the way Padmé looked right now. Wet all over, her hair sticking to her head and neck before blossoming out around her like flower petals as it hit the water. Droplets of water ran down the curvature of her face, tracing a damp line down her cheek and neck in tantalising stripes and clinging to the curve of her lips. But what caught the most of his attention were Padmé’s eyes, still breathtaking, luminous and reflective, and fixed entirely on him.

Unable to resist, Anakin mouthed at some of the lose droplets clinging to her skin, tracing lines along her jaw and down her neck. Padmé hummed contentedly at the motion, pressing her whole form against his and tightening her hold on him, her hands dipping to grasp his torso.

“Careful, Ani,” Padmé said lightly, pulling away from him, “we don’t want to get carried away  _ in _ the water.”

“When you put it that way.” 

Anakin released Padmé completely and splashed a wave of water into her face. She cried out and splashed back at him, darting out of his range while kicking waves of water at his face. They carried on as such for some time, filling the room with exclamations of surprise and joy, Anakin finding himself having more fun than he ever had before in the room. Their laughter echoed off the water and the glass, the Force around them filling with bright joy, chasing away some of the lingering negative energy of the Temple. Anakin could barely breathe for happiness by the time the two of them gave up on their little water war.

“Thank you for tonight,” Anakin whispered after they finally crawled out of the water to lie naked on the bank beneath the faint light of the cityscape coming through the glass above them. “You’ve certainly rearranged my memories of this room quite thoroughly.”

Padmé smiled and rolled to lie beside him, her hand lightly resting on his stomach. “Oh we’re not done just yet, my love,” she promised and mouthed at Anakin’s skin just above where her hand lay. The muscles in Anakin’s stomach danced at the attention, his breath catching in his throat. “Not by a long shot.”

* * *

Slowly, their lives began to right themselves into something more familiar. 

Obi-Wan and Padmé were true to their words, finding increasingly public opportunities to kiss him around the Temple. It still felt weird the first few times, Anakin finally recognising the thrum of anxiety the affection caused, a bolt of fear at getting caught hitting him in anticipation of a scolding that would never come. Padmé would usually catch him around dinner time in the mess hall or the surrounding areas, in the presence of their pickups on the Star Destroyer who seemed to find it eternally hilarious to catcall them. Obi-Wan tended to corner Anakin in more secluded areas of the Temple, away from prying eyes, but always in rooms that seemed to maximise both their levels of discomfort.

“Really?” Anakin asked as he was crowded against a doorway to the Council Chambers.

“What?” Obi-Wan responded with a lazy smile, dipping forward to nip lightly at Anakin’s lips.

Anakin’s hands twisting into the fabric of his fiancé’s shirt. “The Council Room? Really? I never would have expected this from you.” 

“Well, we have to be thorough in our mission, Anakin,” Obi-Wan murmured, before pausing and adding, “Just kissing though. I’ll never be able to return to this room otherwise.”

Anakin laughed and kissed him hard in return.

It was however, very effective retraining of all of their natural instincts in the Temple.

Besides that, Anakin kept his promise to Plo and spend a lot of time fixing as much of the Temple as he could. After breakfast he would go out, either with or without the twins depending on everyone else’s plans, and begin work. The day would then progress as he performed all sorts of repairs, before Obi-Wan, often with the kids in tow if they hadn’t been with Anakin already, would bring him lunch and the four of them would sit down and eat. 

Anakin had stolen the list Obi-Wan had put together and written down all the jobs that he thought he could manually fix. All of the items listed to do with computer issues and unlocking and reprogramming all the technology in the Temple was left to Obi-Wan who had guiltily admitted to knowing Yoda’s access codes, so he was all set up to change literally anything he felt like doing. Padmé continued to go to the Senate everyday. She was becoming more and more frustrated. Not only were they still processing her application to be recognised as someone who was alive, but the Senate continued to wait on a number of Senators from around the galaxy to arrive to discuss the Empire and the future of the galaxy.

Then, right on schedule, Plo, Luminara, Caleb, Zatt, Aulu, Zaria, Wolffe, Rex, Appo, Jesse, and Threepio arrived at the Temple. The Wolfpack had descended upon each other in a flurry of limbs and tears; Sinker and Boost had tackled Wolffe to the ground before the Commander had even spotted them. A yell went up as the three brothers crashed to the floor, Plo’s laughter rasping beside them until he too was dragged into the fray. Anakin foolishly muttered something about a puppy-pile and received the three most terrifying glares of his life.

Caleb had been very excited to see Anakin again and demanded to hear everything that had happened since he’d left, and Anakin gave him a slightly more child appropriate run down of events a few hours later, though Anakin had the distinct feeling that Caleb had put the pieces together into the much more truthful and much  _ less _ kid friendly version.

Welcoming hugs shared all around, with a particularly adorable hug between Luke and Zaria, they began the arduous task of unloading the ship and putting everyone into their rooms. Like back on Tatooine, Luminara took Zaria, Aulu paired up with Zatt, Caleb took his own quarters, and Plo and Wolffe shared. There was then some reshuffling of rooms by their clone contingent; Wooley kicked Razor out to share with Jesse, Razor joined back up with Appo, Cody and Rex decided to share given their long history together, while Sinker and Boost stayed as they were. Threepio was put in a room of his own, the droid utterly unable to stop talking about how excited he was to be back in ‘civilisation’.

Having their own things back felt  _ amazing _ . Leia had cried when she’d been handed Gun back, while Luke had just about sold his soul to Rex for bringing him his wooden LAAT ship back. Anakin was just so glad to get his own tools and clothes again. Now that the others were here, the Temple started to feel just a little bit more like home. Jesse had sequestered himself in the kitchen upon discovering it, fawning over the range of utensils and the industrial sizes of everything. After that, no-one could get him to do anything else, the clone having decided that he was going to cook lunch and dinner for everyone, every day. Given the standard of his cooking, none of them objected and Cody had grumpily admitted that he now understood why the twins had been so horrified by the food on the Star Destroyer.

All the while, as the time went by, Anakin continued to talk about what he’d seen in Sidious’ head, even though it was hard and ofttimes felt like pulling rusted nails from his skin. Sometimes he cried through the retelling, sometimes he ended up filled with rage and resentment, and sometimes he just felt so very, very tired. No matter which it was though, Padmé and Obi-Wan sat beside him through each retelling, offering him support in every way they could. 

Slowly but surely, the flashes of Sidious began fading from his mind, the edges losing their sharpness and the memories losing their sting. 

* * *

Then everything began to happen all at once. Two weeks in and Padmé was officially declared alive and not a fraud, and all the Senators in the galaxy finally finished converging on Coruscant. Once the Senate sessions truly began, Padmé was barely at home, constantly at the Senate with Senators Organa and Mothma, putting forward the miles and miles of evidence they had piled against Chancellor Sheev Palpatine and the Empire. Padmé came home every night exhausted and wrung out. She would have enough sense to eat the food they put in front of her before falling into bed before she had to do it all over again. On the occasional chance Anakin got to see Bail, he could see the exhaustion weighing just as heavily on his shoulders. On the upside, Anakin was pleased to see that some of the things he’d seen in Sidious’ head had proven useful and Padmé had been able to find the secret cache of documents Sidious had hidden in a back-alley locker on the very lowest levels of Coruscant. They were particularly damning and Padmé deemed them instrumental in swaying the majority of the Senate to their side.

It took a full two weeks of constant Senate sessions for Padmé and the rebellion to present their case. When it was done however, they had done what they’d set out to do, and convinced the galaxy of Palpatine’s crimes and the Senate began dismantling the Empire piece by piece. Those who had been instrumental in the creation of the rebellions plans to re-create the Republic began their work in earnest, putting forward bills and reforms that would do just that. They removed emergency powers, began dismantling the Empire’s war machine and secret projects, started putting money back into infrastructure and relief efforts, and began work to have the many clones still left over from the wars to be recognised as individuals with rights. Bail, unsurprisingly, ended up in the position of Chancellor after nominations from multiple systems. 

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do in the long term,” Padmé muttered to Anakin and Obi-Wan one night. She’d had another long day in the Senate and was laying across the couch, her head pillowed in Obi-Wan’s lap. “Bail offered for me to join his staff but I don’t think I want to.”

“Why not?” Anakin asked. He’d thought that she’d do just about anything to remain in the Senate, at least in some capacity.

“It’s not…It’s not the same,” Padmé began, searching for the words. 

“You do like being independent,” Obi-Wan noted.

Padmé nodded. “Yes. Exactly. I agree with Bail on most things, but not always. Also, Alderaan is not my planet and I cannot be trailing around the galaxy after Bail, and now that he’s Chancellor, the likelihood of being dragged around becomes even more likely. I don’t want to be forced apart from my family if I can help it.”

Obi-Wan stroked the beginnings of a beard on his chin—now that they were out of hiding, he seemed to be making some attempt to grow it back—and said, “Maybe you should look into being the Temple’s representative in the Senate. We did all decide we’d need one or two people to do that.”

Padmé made a considering sound, her eyes darting around in thought. “It wouldn’t be seen as a conflict of interest, given the two of you?”

“Neither of us are the Master of the Order,” Obi-Wan countered. “Unless you’ve had something going on with Plo that we don’t know about, we’re safe on that count.”

Anakin couldn’t resist a laugh and Obi-Wan tossed him a very silly smile. 

“I’ll think about it,” Padmé said finally, rolling her eyes at the both of them.

* * *

One morning, about a month after killing Sidious, they woke up to a knock on the door. Anakin got to it first, pulling it open to be greeted by Plo Koon. He was looking a much better colour than he had over the past two years. Anakin had finally been able to get real replacement parts for his antiox mask while they waited on a whole new mask from Dorin. Now the Kel Dor’s breath had lost the faint rattle, even if the device still looked like a mess. 

“Morning, Plo,” Anakin greeted, hiding his face as he yawned.

“Good morning,” the Kel-Dor replied. “We just had a visitor who dropped off this young lady. He said Padmé had offered to take her in. He also said her father would probably want her back but he didn’t have time to stay for that.”

Anakin blinked down at the girl, having missed her when he’d opened the door, her head only coming up to Plo’s waist. 

“Jyn!” Leia yelled as she came running from her bedroom, her plaited hair tails flapping at the movement.

The other girl, Jyn, broke into a wide smile as she was hit with the full force of a speeding Leia.

“I see they have already met,” Plo said wryly. “I’ll organise for someone to bring an extra bed for you.”

“Thanks, Plo,” Anakin replied, both of them watching the two girls vanish back into their quarters. “We appreciate it. Are you still up for a spar later?”

Plo nodded. “After lunch would suit me perfectly. See you then.”

Padmé and Obi-Wan had been very surprised by the additional youngling in their home when they got up a few minutes later, Padmé blinking at Jyn until realisation had crawled across her face.

“Did Saw drop her off here?” Padmé asked.

Anakin nodded. “Apparently her father should come by and get her at some point.”

“That’s good,” Obi-Wan noted and began putting breakfast together for them all. Jyn’s eyes had gone wide in excitement at the food put in front of her, speaking through food to chat with Luke and Leia. Leia was taking  _ great _ pride in introducing her brother to her friend. 

Bail was then in the Temple an hour after Padmé messaged him to let him know that they were looking after Jyn.

“If you’re taking in children,” Bail began and Anakin was already very concerned about where that sentence was going, “we have a number of children in the rebellion whose parents were killed or are still out on a far-off assignment. Would the Temple mind looking after them until we can work out something more permanent? We’d been ferrying them around bases as best we could but I recognise it’s not a good arrangement.”

The look Padmé shot at him and Obi-Wan stated very clearly that nothing was going to stop Padmé from saying yes. Not that Anakin had any inclination to say no. They had stupid amounts of spare room in the temple and now that Jesse had eagerly taken up the role of head chef and roped a few of the other clones in with him, they had the ability to feed rather a lot of people. Also, the Temple still felt eerily quiet and he doubted anyone would say no to having a few more pairs of feet running up and down the halls.

Anakin and Obi-Wan both gave Padmé a small nod.

“Of course,” Padmé replied. “We’ll double check with Plo of course, but I don’t see him saying no.”

Bail nodded eagerly. “Perfect. Comm me later with the official response and I’ll put everything in motion.”

“How many?” Obi-Wan asked, clearly already three steps beyond them.

“Around forty,” Bail said. “Most of them have family out finishing up missions and packing up bases, but there's fifteen who have been orphaned, They may take a little longer to find homes for.”

Plo had no objections and suddenly the Temple was full of kids ranging from five to sixteen. The adults took turns keeping an eye on what could only be described as a pack of children and moved them all into other spare rooms. They managed to keep them entertained, though given the kids were used to being on rebel bases, they were pretty well behaved. 

Anakin took them for swimming lessons, Plo would read to them as a group before bed, Obi-Wan would run games, Luminara would do crafts with them, and the clones would just come up with wild ideas to keep them entertained. One disastrous afternoon even saw most of the children trying to help Jesse in the kitchen. Needless to say, it didn’t happen again.

Another two weeks passed and saw Anakin working in one of the docking bays when a ship came in. He first noticed the new guests when Artoo beeped  _ Guess who’s back assholes  _ from across the bay. 

Anakin had leapt up in excitement and rushed over to his favourite droid, rubbing the dome of Artoo’s casing with deep affection.

“How have you been, Artoo?”

Artoo whistled affirmatively that he was well and he would like an oil bath now, please and thank you. Anakin informed him there was a working bath two levels down. Artoo bailed immediately in favour of getting clean.

Anakin grinned after the speeding droid when two tall blue and white montrals caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

“Snips!” Anakin called, waving.

“Hey, Anakin!”

“How are you?” Anakin asked, looking her over.

Ahsoka shrugged. “Fine, looking forward to a bit of down time honestly.”

“What happened to your Star Destroyer?” Anakin asked. “I was sure you said something about promising to look after it and take it for walks—”

“Ha, Ha, Skyguy, you’re hilarious,” Ahsoka replied flatly. “I had to give it back.” She sounded very disappointed about it. “From the rumours I’m hearing the majority of them are going to be decommissioned, since, ya’know, we’re not at war anymore.”

Anakin nodded. “Fun while it lasted though?”

“ _ So _ much fun having my own ship.” Ahsoka smiled at him, punching him on the arm. “Come on, show me where my little darlings are.”

They found the twins, Jyn, and Obi-Wan in the dining hall; the kids harassing Jesse and Razor in the kitchen while Obi-Wan was bent over several holopads and muttering to himself.

“What’re you up to?” Ahsoka asked, bending over to look at Obi-Wan’s work.

“Budgeting, planning, making lists of things to prioritise,” Obi-Wan said, rubbing his forehead. “Fun things.” He froze. “Ahsoka?” he asked, looking up from his work and staring at the young Togruta.

“In the flesh.”

Obi-Wan sprung up from his seat and pulled Ahsoka into a tight embrace. Anakin watched as a bright warmth lit in his heart. “It’s so good to see you. I swear you’ve gotten taller again,” he said, looking her up and down with a frown.

“Soka!” Luke yelled, spotting her through the window to the kitchen. The three kids ran out of the room and into the dining hall, Luke and Leia colliding with Ahsoka’s legs as both of them exclaimed about how much they’d missed her.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ahsoka replied, crouching down to hug them properly. “I missed you too.”

“Hi,” Jyn said standing a foot back from the Togruta and staring at her in awe.

“Jyn, right?” Ahsoka asked the other girl. “I thought you were staying with Saw.”

Jyn nodded. “I was. I’m staying here until my Papa comes to get me.” She grinned. “He won’t have to work for the Empire anymore. We can be a normal family again.”

“That sounds awesome,” Ahsoka replied.

“Do you want us to take them off your hands?” Anakin asked Obi-Wan, pressing a kiss to the back of his shoulder.

Obi-Wan smiled and turned his attention to Anakin. “If you wouldn’t mind? I really need to get this done tonight.”

Anakin nodded.

Eventually, Anakin, Ahsoka and the three children ended up in the Room of a Thousand Fountains again. Luke was obsessed with the water and any opportunity to swim, and the moment he had Ahsoka’s attention, Luke dragged her there with the rest of them trailing behind.

Anakin sat beside Ahsoka at the edge of one of the deeper pools, both of them tugging off their shoes and dipping their legs in the water.

“I missed this place,” Ahsoka muttered, putting her hand in the water and turning it in circles, creating a small whirlpools in the liquid. 

“We’ve been teaching the twins to swim in here.”

“Going well?”

“Yeah.” Anakin began his next sentence carefully, “I know you chose to leave the Temple, but I was wondering if you would like to return? You know, now that it looks like we’re making some necessary changes to how things will be done.”

Ahsoka seemed to freeze for a moment, her eyes searching for something. She pressed her lips together thoughtfully. “Tell me more.”

Anakin did. He told her all about the plans they had made back on Tatooine and how they’d managed to bring Plo and Luminara on board. Anakin even reluctantly admitted to the fact that he and Qui-Gon believed it to be connected to bringing balance to the Force.

Ahsoka remained quiet through the whole retelling, her face betraying nothing of her thoughts. As Anakin wound the tale down he began to worry that it was not enough to make her stay. He  _ knew _ her life was her own. He  _ knew _ she was capable. And yet…Anakin dearly wanted to keep Ahsoka in his life, preferably where he could see her often.

“Also, we could really use an accomplished lightsaber teacher,” Anakin added at the end.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Ahsoka replied teasingly. “Okay, I’ll stick around for now; I’ll even give teaching a proper go. The Force knows your kids love me; I can’t abandon my adoring fans.” She glanced over to where Luke was attempting to crawl under a lush bush, before fixing Anakin with a steely gaze. “But if at any point I decide I don’t like it here, I’m out.”

“That seems fair.”

A gentle silence settled between the pair.

When Ahsoka next spoke, a sliver of anxiety had crept into the edge of her voice, “You really want me to stay? I mean…” she sighed, “you have a family, what do you really need me for?”

“Ahsoka,” Anakin said and waited for the Togruta to turn her blue eyes on him. “You  _ are  _ my family. I need you because I love you, and not having you in my life is always terrible. I love having you around. Obi-Wan and Padmé love you too. I know we joke around about it, but you  _ are _ a daughter to me.” A thought clicked into place in Anakin’s head. “Is this why you’ve been more distant the past few years?”

Ahsoka nodded slowly, her eyes a little waterier than a few moments before. “I felt like I was intruding,” she muttered.

“Well, I can assure you that you are definitely not,” Anakin told her, bumping his shoulder against hers. “I’d love to see more of you. You’re welcome to move in with us.”

“Nice try,  _ Dad _ ,” Ahsoka laughed. “ _ That’s _ not happening. I like having my own space.” She paused, letting the facade of bravado slip away. “I’ll definitely hang around more though.”

“That sounds good, Snips.”

Anakin’s eyes caught movement behind Ahsoka that made his heart stop and the smile drop from his face.

“Leia!” Anakin yelled, scrambling up from his seat. “Leia, you put Jyn down  _ right now _ !”

Leia had Jyn suspended in the air, hovering above one of the taller trees, the other girl clearly focused on reaching a large cluster of fruits near the top. Jyn turned a disgruntled stare on Anakin, but he just latched onto the girl in the Force, overriding Leia’s grip, and carefully brought her back to the ground.

“We were just trying to get the fruit,” Jyn grumbled, her chin tilted up at Anakin in defiance.

Anakin sighed and sat down with both girls to have a serious discussion about safety and misusing the Force. Anakin suspected he would have be having this conversation a lot with his daughter in the future.

Ahsoka laughed at him the entire time.

For the first few days after her arrival, Ahsoka crashed in Rex and Cody’s quarters and spent her days surrounded by the many children the Temple seemed to be harbouring, though that number was slowly diminishing as rebel parents came to retrieve their kids. Then, once they’d had time to clean out a room for her, Ahsoka moved into her own small set of quarters and began really integrating herself back into temple life.

Plo had been ecstatic to discover that Ahsoka had decided to stay and the Kel Dor had taken a few days from all the reorganising he and Obi-Wan had been doing to catch up with his favourite student. 

Ahsoka shone with the attention.

* * *

Two months after the death of Palpatine, the occupants of the Jedi Temple had a small celebration, though the reasons for it were three-fold. One, they had missed the twins fifth life day about a month and a half ago, all of them forgetting due to the massive upheaval in their lives; two, the Temple was well on its way to being rebuilt into a home; and three, the legislation declaring the clones citizens of the galaxy and individuals with rights had finally passed.

Jesse and his team (a mix of assorted responsible children plus Razor and Wooley) made an impressive spread of food. Ahsoka and Caleb ran games with the kids, always ensuring that the minimum child-yelling-quota was being reached at every moment. Anakin wished that the quota was lower, but couldn’t say no to the way the Force around them filled with happiness and excitement. Then as the children ran out of energy, they were escorted off to bed.

After all the children had been put to sleep, Rex appeared with a crate of black ale, and handed one to every adult in the room. Caleb had been very excited to be included with the adults, having turned eighteen recently. In the end, the clones ended up the least sober, with all of them drinking for every toast made. While they had started sensibly enough, toasting freedom and individuality, by the third hour they were toasting ‘alcohol’ and ‘that really cool hat Jesse has’. The end of the evening saw Cody draped over Padmé and tearfully thanking her for what she and the rebellion had done for them all. The others had ended up clustered together and singing all they songs they could remember from the war.

Anakin understood where they were coming from; freedom was a heady brew.

* * *

Three months after the fall of the Empire, Anakin found himself walking through the Temple to find a man standing in the entrance hall, staring up at the statues. He was broad-shouldered with a strong jaw and sharp eyes, with greying hair that came down to his ears. Anakin did not recognise him, the man plucking not even a single string of recognition in the Force.

“Hello,” Anakin greeted, approaching the man. His eyes swung around to look at Anakin, offering up a polite smile. “Can I help you?”

“Galen Erso,” the man replied, holding out his hand. “I believe my daughter is here somewhere.”

“Jyn,” Anakin said reflexively, shaking his hand. “You’re Jyn’s father.”

He nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“I’m Anakin Skywalker. Jyn’s been staying with us.”

Galen inclined his head. “Nice to meet you.”

“Saw mentioned you were forced to work for the Empire,” Anakin added conversationally as they began to walk through the nearest corridor, and then mentally kicked himself. What an opener. He’d really meant to keep that thought in his head.

Galen smiled at the floor. “Yes. They wanted me for my knowledge.” He let out a breath. “I would personally describe myself as a pacifist; I wanted to use my research to create unlimited clean energy for developing planets. Of course, the Republic and then the Empire wanted my research to create the ultimate weapon.”

Anakin blinked. He thought he’d heard Obi-Wan and Padmé talking about such a thing. He was also fairly certain he’d heard similar things in the media. Something about a secret project and a planet killer. 

“It had something to do with kyber crystals, didn’t it?” Anakin asked, more to himself than Galen. 

Galen nodded. “It did.” He didn’t elaborate further.

Anakin hummed thoughtfully and didn’t press the issue. That part he definitely remembered from the overheard conversations. Given what one small crystal could make in a light-saber, he could see how a lot of them could create an superweapon. He could also see how they could likely be harnessed to create clean energy. The things were damn powerful. Anakin resolved to read up on it later, suddenly interested in Galen’s suggestion of unlimited clean energy. Tatooine could do with some of that. 

He pulled out his comm as they walked and called Obi-Wan.

“Yes, Anakin?” his voice came through as he picked up.

“Do you know where the kids are?” Anakin said. “I have Jyn’s father here.”

“Yes, Ahsoka took Jyn and the twins to the upper training rooms for practice,” Obi-Wan replied.

“Okay, thank you. I’ll see you later.”

Anakin felt a pulse of affection sing along their bond before vanishing behind thin shields.

They walked through the halls of the Temple in silence, Anakin catching Galen looking interestedly around at the decorations on the walls; the paintings and sculptures catching his eye as they walked. 

“Has Jyn been well?” Galen asked as they entered the elevator.

Anakin nodded, selecting the appropriate level on the keypad. “She seems to have enjoyed her stay, though I think it mainly has to do with the fact that she and my daughter, Leia, have bonded quite closely. I will warn you that she does tend to have nightmares on occasion, though what they’re about she wouldn’t share.”

Galen pressed his lips together. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

The doors dinged open and the two of them stepped out into the hallway, Anakin leading the other man to the nearest training room. All four heads turned to look at them as they entered.

There was a pause in time.

“Papa?” Jyn’s voice was breathless and disbelieving, her eyes as wide as moons as she stared at her father.

“Hello, Stardust”

Jyn threw herself into her father’s arms, her small limbs wrapping around as much of his torso as she could reach.

“Papa!” Jyn cried into the fabric of her father’s shirt. “Papa, I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, Jyn. Very much.”

Anakin looked away in an attempt to give them privacy. He ignored the way his own eyes prickled at the sight. Anakin had barely been able to keep himself together for a day after the twins had been taken. He could not imagine having to live that way for any extended period of time.

Leia trotted up to the three of them, Luke and Ahsoka still standing in the centre of the room and watching with interest. “What’s going on?” she asked Anakin, her hand tugging at his shirt. “Who’s that?

“That’s Jyn’s father, Leia. He’s come to take her home,” Anakin replied.

Leia’s bottom lip wobbled threateningly. “What?”

“Jyn has to go with her father, Leia,” Anakin said as gently as he could, kneeling down to speak with his daughter. “She can’t stay with us.”

Leia burst into tears, a number of nearby light bulbs shattering around them. Jyn leapt back from her father in surprise, and Galen looked around them in concern.

“Leia,” Anakin chastised, “you need to control yourself.”

His daughter nodded around her tears, and the ominous humming of several other bulbs dropped back to normal, though Leia continued to cry, launching herself at Anakin and wrapping her arms around his legs, sobbing into his tunic. “But I don—don’t wan’Jyn to go!” she cried. “She’s my—my best friend.”

At that, Jyn followed Leia’s lead and broke back into hard sobs, her face scrunching up as tears fell down her cheeks, the two girls staring at each other in dismay.

“You know,” Anakin said beside Galen as both fathers were faced with matching tear-streaked faces, “we have rather a lot of kyber crystals here. It would be very helpful to have someone around who knew a lot about them, someone who could perhaps continue his energy research at the same time?”

Galen turned to look at him with wet eyes and a little laugh. He examined Anakin closely. “I will consider it. I have had a few offers over the past week, and I would like to investigate them all thoroughly.”

Anakin nodded in understanding.

“However, if you would permit me, I would like to bring Jyn back to visit.” Galen smiled. “Our daughters seem to have become fast friends.”

With a promise of future visits, Leia and Jyn were placated and more easily separated from one another. Jyn was then lifted into her father’s arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder, staring back at the rest of them. 

Leia waved sadly, still sniffing, and said, “I hope to see you again soon,” in a perfect imitation of her mother.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy for many of the children still in their care. Many had no parents to pick them up and no homes to return to. 

The children whose parents had been away on missions all managed to get to Coruscant and collect their children within the first four months of the end of the Empire. Now, they were left with the remaining orphaned children still in need of a home. Bail had managed to find homes for nine of the orphaned children so far, mainly with other rebel families, which left them with six unclaimed children in the Temple. 

Reaat, Sha, Herin, Cassian, Fenn, and Delmon were those still left behind, and all of them sick to death of waiting around in the Temple. In the end, given that they were becoming more and more restless and there were only a few of them now, Anakin decided to send them along to all the impromptu classes the Younglings and Padawans were taking. It was still highly unstructured and continued in the style and content that’d been taught on Tatooine, but it was better than nothing. It at least gave all the kids some more people to socialise with.

It didn’t take long for Fenn to begin displaying Force sensitivity, once she had cottoned on to what the others were doing. Plo had offered the young Bothan a permanent home in the Temple and to continue training as a Jedi, which Fenn had excitedly accepted. That brought down their orphan number down to five.

The others took to the classes with ranging interest. Cassian was a quiet and somber twelve year old who took his studies very seriously, and made quite close friends with Zatt, and in turn, Luke. Luke mainly because he had attached himself to Zatt’s side a few months ago and if Zatt thought Cassian was a good friend, then Luke was also on board with the idea. Reaat fell on the other end of the spectrum, very disinterested in the lessons and much more interested in making friends with everyone in the room. The other three did the minimum amount work, but were easy, likeable kids. Anakin didn’t doubt that Bail would be able to find them all homes soon enough.

* * *

Finally, beginning around the four month mark of the return of the Republic, Jedi truly started returning to the Temple. Seemingly, everyone had wanted to ensure the news was true and that the reformation of the Republic went forward as hoped. Now that both things have been proven accurate, more and more Jedi came out of the woodwork and returned home.

Vos was the first to arrive in suitably dramatic fashion by bursting into their quarters with some form of celebratory song on his lips. Luke had responded, quite reasonably Anakin thought to a strange, loud man being in their home, and blasted the cup in his hands straight at the Kiffar Jedi. Vos thankfully caught it and apologised to Luke. Following Quinlan in was a man the family didn’t recognise and who Vos introduced as Drun Cairnwick. The name had seemed vaguely familiar, and Vos pointed out that he’d been working in the outer rim during the War, and then after 66, had wound up falling in with the rebellion. Drun and Vos had accidentally met one another on one of the rebellion’s transport ships into Coruscant and had both had a good laugh that they’d somehow never come across one another while running jobs for Bail.

Jocasta Nu and Tera Sinube appeared suddenly around two weeks after that. From what they told Anakin and the others, the pair had escaped the Temple together after the purge and hidden on the lowermost levels of Coruscant using Master Sinube’s knowledge of the culture of the slums to get by. News had travelled swiftly to the lower levels that the Empire had been overthrown, but the knowledge that the Jedi were returning to the Temple and the details of the many reforms in the Senate had been much slower. Once they did finally hear that news, both Madame Nu and Master Sinube decided to return and see the changes for themselves. Ahsoka had been beside herself to discover that the old Cosian Master was still alive, if looking frailer than the last time she’d seen him. She’d hugged him as tight as she dared before the two fell into a long, warm discussion with one another.

Obi-Wan had been most thrilled by Madame Nu’s reappearance and within an hour of their arrival, both Jocasta and Obi-Wan vanished, only to be found hours later in the Library, carefully re-establishing the power to the system and rebooting the library. Jocasta had been smiling up at the library as tears dripped down her wizened cheeks. Obi-Wan had a comforting hand on her shoulder and Anakin quietly excused himself from the scene, deciding he could catch Obi-Wan later. 

Shaak Ti walked into the temple one morning with a Padawan in tow. Anakin found out when Leia came running into the room he was working in, exclaiming something about there being another Soka in the the Temple. Confused and intrigued, Anakin was led through the Temple by his daughter to find Shaak Ti being interrogated by Luke. The Togrutan master was patiently answering all of Luke’s questions, statements, and excited jabberings, the Padawan beside her was just staring at Luke in confusion.

Shaak had looked up at Anakin with a warm smile and greeted him, expressing interest in the twins, though of course once Leia called him Dad again, she quickly surmised that they were his. She’d said something about explaining their presences in the Force and introduced the young girl next to her as Maris.

Anakin and the twins spoke to their two returning Jedi as he walked them to the administrative office a few of the clones had thrown together in search of something to do. From the sounds of it, Shaak Ti had spent some time alone after 66 before she found Maris and the two ended up spending most of the years on Felucia, living with the locals.

Wooley was manning the front desk when they approached, with Razor sitting on the desk beside him as the two of them chatted amongst themselves. Razor shouted, “Hey guys, Mum’s back!” and Anakin laughed as the Togrutan Jedi Master was swamped with over-excited clones appearing out from a nearby door, a games table visible just beyond it. Shaak Ti had been overjoyed to see her clones again, warmly greeting each and every one of them, quickly crushed in the embraces of so many men.

Yaddle appeared quietly one afternoon a few weeks after that, not even announcing her presence until Obi-Wan spotted her quietly sitting down at a table at the evening meal.  A shout had gone up and the diminutive Jedi Master found herself quickly surrounded by old friends. Eeth Koth appeared in a similar manner around a week later, just walking in on a discussion about rostering people to work in the kitchen, greeting everyone, and then wandering back out the way he came.

With that, the tide had truly begun, multiple people arriving each week, either on their own or in small groups. There were even more Padawans beginning to trickle in with the masters. Jinx, a young Twi-lek Padawan arrived on his own one morning. Master T’ra Saa had appeared with Master Eekar Oki, Master Uvel turned up with Youngling Gungi, with Master Rig Nema and Padawan Katooni shortly after that. Master Thongla Jur another week later, and Master Coleman Kcaj had arrived with five younglings and one Padawan a week after that, and Anakin had seriously wondered how he’d managed to look after so many children on his own. Then, there were enough coming in that Anakin lost track of it, leaving it to those in admin to worry about it. 

Around seven months after the Empire’s fall, the influx began to slow down again, and by the eighth month, it had died down to one or two per month. There was also a slow but constant influx of ex-clone troopers. Anakin didn’t know the vast majority of them, but there was usually someone in the Temple who would recognise them and give each man a warm welcome. Every new arrival was accepted warmly into the pack of clones already there, and would soon find himself with his own shared living space and as much or as little work as he wanted. Wooley had also started building contacts in Coruscant and was helping those clones who didn’t want to stay find work elsewhere.

Then a truly unexpected guest suddenly appeared in the form of a familiar Zabrak. 

Anakin and Obi-Wan had decided to take the twins to Dex’s diner since Obi-Wan had promised he would on his first visit to his old friend’s restaurant a few months back. Upon arrival, Obi-Wan had been dragged into a terrifyingly tight hug from the Besalisk while Luke and Leia had stared up at the huge being with wide eyes.

Luke immediately burst out with, “You have  _ four arms? _ That’s so cool! That’s…” he paused, looking at Anakin, “two more hands?”

Anakin nodded at his math.

“Wizard,” Luke muttered and went to introduce himself to Dex when Obi-Wan was finally released.

Dex was immediately taken by the twins, talking animatedly with the both of them before ushering the four of them plus Dex into a booth in the corner. After being thoroughly grilled by Luke, the three adults talked over a meal, the Besalisk fascinated to hear everything that had happened in the Senate from the source. In turn, Dex shared the rumours he’d heard or arms dealing on the lower floors related to Imperial soldiers who weren’t happy about the change. Anakin filed the information away for the future. He should probably tell Bail about it. They all knew that if they just told Padmé she would be down there with a blaster, solving the problem herself.

Anakin did his best to ignore the interested looks their party was getting, though thankfully everyone seemed deterred by the pointed stares Dex was handing out. It was, all in all, a lovely excursion. They didn’t often take the twins out into Coruscant proper, and the two of them absolutely lived for getting out of the Temple and seeing more of the City. Anakin was fairly sure Luke would happily just live on the street out here just to see all the beings coming and going.

“Thanks for coming by,” Dex said as he pulled them all in for a final goodbye hug. “Please bring the kids back again sometime.”

Obi-Wan agreed heartily and promised to even bring Padmé next time.

Then, as they left the building, heading out the back entrance to where they’d stashed their speeder, a black blur whizzed past them, nearly colliding with Obi-Wan. The shape tugged the hood off his head to reveal the spiked, red and black head of Maul. Anakin had yanked the twins behind him and a hand on his saber before he even spoke.

“Kenobi,” the soft voice hissed, stepping closer into Obi-Wan’s space. “My contacts tell me I must unfortunately bestow some  _ thanks _ in your direction. We are even now. You will not see me again. Do not come looking.”

Then he was gone. 

He leapt as a shadow up the nearest building, quickly disappearing over a roof-top. When Anakin looked back down, Obi-Wan was still standing there, looking after the darksider, dazed and perplexed.  

“Well that was weird,” Anakin said, striding over to his partner, his brain tripping over the bizarre nature of the past minute. “So, do you think it’s something we should worry about?”

“I…don’t think so,” Obi-Wan replied slowly.

Anakin nodded, suggesting, “Maybe he’s grateful for the fact we killed Sidious?” 

Obi-Wan nodded, pressing his lips together. “That  _ would  _ make the most sense.”

“Well, there’s no sense in dwelling on it,” Anakin said seriously, “if he said you won’t see him again, he probably meant it, the dramatic asshole.”

Obi-Wan just hummed.

“Who was that?” Luke asked, appearing between the two of them. “He looked like Brato but  _ cooler _ .”

Obi-Wan scoffed. 

“He was someone we knew before the war,” Anakin replied, placing his hand on Luke’s back and giving him a small push towards the speeder they’d borrowed from the temple. Leia was already standing by it, staring up at the sky and the speeders soaring by above them.

“Come on,” Anakin said, grabbing Obi-Wan’s arm and dragging him toward the speeder. “Padmé wanted us to decide on food and drinks for the wedding  _ before _ she got home, and we’ve got training with the kids in an hour so we’d better make a quick decision.”

“I now completely understand why you married secretly,” Obi-Wan muttered disdainfully as they finished climbing into the vehicle. “There’s far too much that goes into all this.”

“Agreed.”

“Can I help?” Leia asked, leaning forward in her seat. “Mum said she wanted four—no, um—five blossom bread.”

“Did she?” Obi-Wan asked, turning to look at their daughter.

“I think I remember that being a special occasion food on Naboo,” Anakin muttered, trying to place the food. It stirred a sweet flavour in his mind and he just couldn’t— “Oh, that’s right, Padmé gave me some once, she had a secret stash of it on Coruscant. It  _ was _ really nice.”

“See, I can help,” Leia urged. “Please? I really want to.”

“Sure, if you really want. It’s not going to be particularly fun though,” Obi-Wan pointed out. 

Leia nodded excitedly. “Yeah, I do.”

“Okay then,” Anakin agreed. “Luke, do you want to help before training?”

Luke shook his head. “No, I wanna practice with Zaria. I promised her I’d help. Can I do that?”

“So long as you stay in sight of an adult,” Anakin agreed.

Luke nodded excitedly and the four of them returned home.

Not long after their strange run in with Maul, Qui-Gon suddenly reappeared, scaring the living daylights out of a communal meditation session that Obi-Wan was leading. Shaak Ti had sworn colourfully at the disembodied Jedi Master after throwing her shoe at his form. Yaddle had given him the dressing down of his afterlife, berating him for what sounded like every mistake he had ever committed followed by the most sincere voicing of her joy at seeing him again. Qui-Gon stood there with a pleasant smile, impassively taking the telling off, and then dragged Obi-Wan, Plo, and the other present Jedi masters off to talk. Caleb took over leading the younger students left behind.

“Yoda has decided to not return,” Qui-Gon informed them. “He feels that his time has come to step away from the Order and let you all take over for the future.”

Anakin blinked. That had not been what he was expecting at all.

Obi-Wan asked the question they were all thinking; “Why?”

Qui-Gon took a moment to consider his words. “The two of us have spoken at length over the past five years, particularly debating interpretations of Anakin’s prophecy—” Anakin did his best not to twitch at the mention of himself, feeling a number of eyes flicking over to him, “—and how much of a role Sidious truly played in the downfall of the Jedi and how much we brought it on ourselves. Yoda decided that his traditional outlook was and is not what we need moving forward.”

“You bullied him into admitting you were right, you mean,” Plo said evenly.

Qui-Gon smiled serenely at him.

“You’re just as infuriating in death as you were in life, Master Jinn,” Yaddle said and made her way towards the door. “I’m going to have a cup of tea. I’m too old for this nonsense. Tell Yoda I expect him to visit.”

Qui-Gon nodded in agreement.

Now that it was clear that Yoda was not returning, Plo began organising weekly meetings with all the remaining Masters to discuss the future of the Jedi Order. No-one objected to Plo taking up the mantle of Master of the Order, and it was easier than Anakin had imagined to bring the other Masters around the ideas they had posited on Tatooine. Strangely enough, it seemed that between the experiences of the Clone Wars and the five years in hiding after the purge had changed a number of opinions about attachment and emotion and how the Order had done things in the past.

Over the first couple of meetings they all agreed on the Temple working more like a boarding school and not completely removing children from their families. The single Master-Padawan system was removed to be replaced with the less structured training regimes usually saved for the Younglings. They also agreed that functioning separately from the Senate was definitely a good idea. Instead it was decided that they should have a team of two working as liaison between the two bodies, one individual from within the Jedi Order and a sympathetic outsider. Anakin quickly made it known that Padmé had expressed some interest in the position. They also all agreed that the clones should be allowed to remain if they wished, and would be put on the payroll of the Temple for whatever positions they chose.They lifted the ban on attachments with only a short discussion which lifted the final weight from Anakin’s shoulders. Obi-Wan had shot him a flirtatious little wink that had not been missed by a fair portion of the other Masters and Anakin felt himself turn an embarrassing shade of pink. 

There was also the surprising new change, suggested by Shaak Ti, that they set the minimum age limit for admittance to the temple at five standard years old, and to remove restrictions on maximum ages. Her argument was that they should be offering training to anyone who needed it. They didn’t have to fully train anyone, and if someone came to the Temple looking to just learn how to control their power at the most basic level, then that option should be open. “Not everyone wants to be a Jedi,” she said, “but everyone should have the right to learn how to use their connection to the Force safely.” This was the debate that took the longest, with some vocal disagreement from some of the older Masters. In the end though, their biggest opponent were brought around to the idea through Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti’s calm and well thought out arguments. It also meant that any adults who had aged out or chosen to work for the Corps, could return to the Temple for further training if they wished. Obi-Wan in particular had been a big supporter of that move.

Then, everyone put in requests and recommendations for who should fill what roles within the newly organized Order. The next time they met a week later, roles were handed out officially, in the presence of all the residents of the Temple, Jedi, clone, and civilian alike. 

Plo Koon was bestowed the honour of Master of the Order with Obi-Wan was named his second if the Kel Dor was ever off world or unable to perform his duties, a decision which surprised no-one but Obi-Wan. Madame Nu was given her library back officially, while Padmé and Shaak Ti became the liaison team for the Senate, both women looking forward to working with one another. Ahsoka and Vos were pleased to be placed in charge of ‘saber training, while a selection of other Jedi masters were also given teaching roles that fit their skillset.

Anakin ended up as crèche master, though the role was shaping up to be rather different given the changes to admittance rules. From the discussions he, Plo, and Obi-Wan had, the role was no longer a matter of living with and raising the Younglings in one large crèche, but rather being the first point of contact for anything a Youngling or Padawan might need. He was also to be in charge of keeping them organised, motivated, and on track in their studies. Plo had described the role to him as more like a school’s headmaster or classroom teacher, than that of a pseudo-parent as it had been previously.

Jesse was given the role of head chef and Wolffe given charge of security. Inevitably, all members of the Wolfpack still in the Temple, a few more members appearing over the preceding months, jumped into security roles very happily, with a smattering of a few members other battalions joining as well. Wooley offered up his services as head of administration, with Razor working as his main assistant. Rex and Cody took up teaching roles, with Rex on non-lightsaber combat, and Cody on strategy. Anakin liked to think that they would never be actively involved in war again, but he knew that planets  _ were _ likely to ask for help with military issues, and it would be best if anyone sent to help actually knew what they were doing. Appo and a number of others opted to work as maintenance crew, and spent a lot of time working with Anakin to get the Temple back up and running. The rest of the clones chose to remain in administration for now and continue to do odd jobs until they found the niche they wanted to fill, or until they decided to find work elsewhere. A number quickly flocked into Jesse’s kitchen once they discovered the joy of cooking and the sheer deliciousness of their brother’s food.

Roles and changes thus made, the Jedi Order began to fall back into a working routine, with everyone slipping into their respective roles. In some ways, it felt as though the purge never happened, in others, there was such a marked way in which the Temple and the Order had changed, that nothing short of a genocide could have possibly been the catalyst. 

There were more civilians coming in and out of the Temple then there ever had been in the past. Galen, as promised, would often drop Jyn off to spend time with Leia, and would then spend a few hours speaking with the recently returned kyber specialist in the Temple. He didn’t end up taking Anakin up on his initial offer of work, eventually taking up a position at Coruscant's biggest power provider. However, Galen had come back to Anakin and offered to help those in the Temple, wanting to share what he had learned with his research in return for learning more about what the Jedi knew about the crystals. The scientist ended up implementing one of his experimental power designs in the Temple with some of their damaged and unusable crystals, which had absolutely revolutionised their power levels. Galen had been then been fascinated by the more spiritual attributes of the crystal, and the lightsaber’s inner workings which he was currently having an exciting time redesigning. From what he’d told Anakin, he was trying to figure out a way to give the blade more than one setting of ‘instant destruction’, searching for a way to perhaps create more of a taser-like effect. So far, the main issue was keeping the blade’s structural integrity while on a lower power setting. If nothing else, Galen seemed to enjoy the challenge.

Bail also often visited the Temple to check in on their orphaned charges. In the past few months, he had found homes for Reaat, Sha, and Delmon, leaving only Herin and Cassian still in the Temple. Bail would come visit them, taking time to catch up with Padmé before sitting down with the two orphans for a conversation and, when he could spare the time given that being Chancellor meant that most of his time belonged to the government, taking them out into Coruscant.

Other Senators would drop in from time to time too, usually on the pretence of catching up with Padmé, but oftentimes such visits ended in them being shown the Temple and discussing the proposed changes to how the Jedi would run with either Anakin, Obi-Wan, or Plo. While it wasn’t particularly convenient, it did seem to be doing wonders for their public perception and helping put all the new legislation through the Senate.

Other things changed too; Ahsoka was Knighted within the first fortnight of the Order’s restoration. Anakin had suggested to Plo that she complete her Trials, but the Master of the Order had waved him off, stating that Ahsoka had more than proved herself worthy of the title over the previous years. She’d initially not believed him, calling Anakin ‘hilarious’ and challenging him to a practice fight. Anakin had stood his ground and repeated that he and Plo and the rest of the council had all agreed and she was expected in the Council Room now, if she wanted it. Ahsoka had thrown her arms around him and cried into his shoulder for a good five minutes, mumbling all sort of things against his shoulder that he couldn’t make out. Ahsoka had accepted her position as Knight with puffy eyes and a wide smile.

Then, on Anakin and Luminara’s suggestion, Caleb went for his Trails. The Padawan had initially been very excited about the nomination, facing the upcoming tests with serious determination and throwing himself back into his training. The night before the Trials began saw Caleb sitting in the Skywalker quarters the whole night before, fretting and stressing over the impeding day. Caleb did at least have two Trials already completed, the Council deciding that given the past five years and the ordeal of losing his Master and surviving the Purge, they had already passed him on the Trial of the Flesh and the Trial of Courage. All he had to prove tomorrow was that he could pass the Trials of Skill, Spirit, and Insight.

Anakin sat with him through the night, talking and encouraging his student while Padmé, Obi-Wan, and the twins retired to bed at a more reasonable hour. As the evening progressed, Caleb relaxed more and more, the two of them dropping onto more philosophical discussions and Anakin providing non-specific examples of his Trials to bolster his student’s confidence. Then, Caleb had fallen asleep on the couch, curled around a cushion, his face losing all signs of worry.

The next morning, they’d eaten an early breakfast in silence before Anakin walked him up to the Council chambers.

“May the Force be with you,” Anakin said and received a serious nod in response. Then Anakin watched his student walk through the chamber doors.

He went about his normal duties for the rest of the morning, shepherding Younglings and Padawans off to classes and dealing with whatever odd issues sprang up over the course of the day, until he was summoned back to the Council chambers. Caleb was already waiting outside for him.

Anakin raised his eyebrows in question but Caleb just shook his head, although he was smiling.

“I passed the Trial of Skill and the Trial of the Spirit but I…I purposefully failed the Trial of Insight,” the young man admitted quietly. “It’s just that…it didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel ready to be a Knight; I wanted to be one so badly, I didn’t stop to think if I was ready in my heart.”

Anakin looked at his student in contemplation.

Caleb dropped his eyes. “I’m sorry, Anakin.”

“No, no, don’t be sorry,” Anakin said, pulling Caleb into a one-armed hug. “You are wise to put your Knighthood off if you do not feel ready. I’m proud of you.”

Caleb broke into an unrestrained smile and the Knight and Padawan went to have a celebratory dinner together.

Obi-Wan and Padmé continued to go about their duties with the single-minded conviction he adored in the both of them. 

Obi-Wan was constantly running around the Temple, making sure everything was running smoothly and that everyone was relatively happy. He and Plo would meet regularly, much like Anakin noted Mace and Yoda did in the past, the two of them keeping the Temple together and functional just by their combined forces of will. Anakin was still so glad that Plo had accepted the position as Master of the Order, given his warm disposition, wealth of experience, and his level head, Anakin really couldn’t have thought of anyone better. 

Padmé and Shaak Ti could often be found together in the Temple or the Senate, working relentlessly to make sure the Temple’s autonomy was respected and ensuring all the changes proposed by the Jedi were accepted. Over time, the two women became fast friends and would spend time together socially, often found drinking tea in various locations around the Temple with a few kids scattered around them. Padmé’s time was also divided by her duties to the Temple and communicating with her family and continuing to work out wedding details. Anakin had really never known that a marriage was such a huge production and the whole thing was mind-boggling in its entirety. Both he and Obi-Wan were very glad that Padmé was happy to take the helm on most of it, though she included the two of them in decisions wherever she could.

Otherwise, their lives continued as they had been. While they were apart for the day, they all came home together in the evenings. Sometimes the three affianced would go out on proper, actual dates, which was very strange for all three of them, but still highly enjoyable. He’d also taken to spending at least one evening a week just with Ahsoka, the two of them sneaking out to participate in pod or swoop racing in the lower levels, or just going out into town for fun. Once Rex and Cody and the others discovered their little practice, they would sometimes invite themselves along. 

He and Obi-Wan also made time to spend time with the clones, organising outings around Coruscant or running games and tournaments in the Temple. One particularly fun activity they came up with was a mass game of hide and seek with the children, which devolved into a wild game of chase, with children shrieking in the halls as the clones chased them down, throwing the younglings over their shoulders. Obi-Wan had spent the whole afternoon doubled over in laughter, particularly when Rex decided that Ahsoka counted as a child and abducted her from a desk where she had been working. The other children found it hilarious to see Ahsoka shrieking at her friend and wriggling as hard as she could to get out of his hold. Of course, her revenge came two days later when Rex woke up with his bed floating in the middle of one of the larger pools of water in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. 

It was good to have laughter in the Temple again.

* * *

Eight months after the fall of the Empire, and two months since the proper re-establishment of the Jedi Temple, Anakin sat at the edge of the garden, watching some of the children train under the shady grove of trees before him. Padmé was seated beside Anakin, her shoulder pressed tightly against his as she was typing into her holopad. Obi-Wan was with the children, giving them some extra training, though given that Galen had dropped Jyn off earlier, Leia was rather distracted. Luke, Zatt, Cassian, and Zaria were closely listening to Obi-Wan as he talked them through a tricky movement in the Kata they were practicing. 

Cassian wasn’t particularly good at any of the Kata’s, missing the essential link to the Force to really feel what he was meant to be doing, but that did not stop him from trying. He was also now the last orphan of the rebellion left in the Temple, Herin having found a home in the last few weeks. Cassian was becoming more despondent with each passing day, and Anakin hoped that Bail either found him a home soon, or that they decided to just let Cassian stay in the Temple permanently. This state of uncertainty was not good for a child. Anakin understood that more than most.

He looked up as he suddenly sensed an unfamiliar presence in the Force trailing behind Bail’s easily recognisable signature coming from the nearby elevators. Anakin looked up to see two people approaching them, a woman walking beside Bail, a long and intricately detailed dress trailing along the ground around her in a stunning midnight blue. Her black hair was twisted up around her head while her dark eyes stared around the garden interestedly. Though Anakin had never seen her in person before, this could only be Queen Breha of Alderaan. 

Anakin elbowed Padmé and nodded in the pair’s direction.

“Breha!” Padmé exclaimed, her eyes widening in excitement as she put her holopad down and rushed forward to meet the other woman. “I didn’t know you were on Coruscant.”

“Padmé, oh how good to see you! It’s been too long.” Breha pulled Padmé into a close hold. “I arrived yesterday. I finally found some time to get off Alderaan and come visit.”

“I must imagine it’s been very busy with the death of the Empire,” Padmé said, clearly sympathetic. 

Breha pressed her lips together, widening her eyes, and nodding. “Like you wouldn’t believe. Or rather, I’m sure you really would.”

Padmé laughed. “What are you doing here?”

“Well for one, to visit you all, and...the other was Bail’s idea,” Breha said cryptically. “Do you mind if we…?” Breha gestured towards where the children were still gathered around Obi-Wan, and watching him perform the next motion.

Padmé nodded and Anakin stood up, wrapping his arm around Padmé’s waist and following after the Organas. Obi-Wan spotted them first, pausing in his demonstration to wave at them. All five children immediately spun around to see who it was, Luke jumping up from his seat and running at Bail with an exclamation of welcome. The others followed at a more sedate pace, following after Luke to say hello to their visitors.

Breha garnered a lot of attention from the children. Leia in particular was highly interested in her dress, circling around the Queen and gently touching the sheer fabric. Luke, Zatt, Jyn, and Cassian all said a polite hello and Breha introduced herself to them as Bail’s wife.

“That means you’re…the Queen of Alderaan. Right?” Cassian asked, frowning in concentration, clearly trying to drag up the things he’d learned in their politics class.

“Yes, I am,” Breha said warmly.

Jyn and Leia cooed interestedly, Leia dragging Jyn around the back of the dress to show her the intricate embroidery at the back, the image of a silver dragon spread across the hem. All five adults watched the interaction with amusement. Anakin watched Bail step closer to Obi-Wan and mutter something in his ear.

Obi-Wan startled for a moment, smiling at Bail, before calling out, “Luke, Leia, Jyn, and Zatt, it’s time to return to our lesson and leave our guests in peace.” 

Anakin watched the realisation that his name had not been mentioned cross Cassian’s face, his stance tightening where he stood. Anakin took a few steps away with Padmé, sensing a need for privacy. It did not however stop either of them from listening and watching from the corner of their eyes.

Once the other children wandered back to Obi-Wan as Breha knelt down on the ground in front of Cassian, her dress spreading around her like a flower in bloom.

“Did you want to talk to me?” Cassian asked, not looking at any of them, an edge of guarded fear in his voice as he watched the other children return to their lesson.

“Yes, we do. Getting right to the point, Cassian, we would like to adopt you,” Breha said with a smile, looking at the young boy.

Cassian’s eyes went wide and his head swivelled around the look at the Alderaanian Queen properly.

“What?”

“Would you like that, Cassian?” Bail asked. “I understand it’s—”

“Do you mean it?” Cassian asked, frowning seriously at them both.

“Of course,” Breha replied and smiled over at Bail. “My husband tells me he’s loved the time he’s spent with you over the past few months—”  

“Why though?” Cassian asked.

“We cannot have children of our own, Cassian,” Breha said gently. “We both have wanted a child for years, and then Bail met you. He’s constantly telling me how kind and clever you are and we  _ both _ think you would be a wonderful addition to our family, if you would like to.” 

Bail took over the conversation. “We would of course understand if that’s not what you want. I spend much of my time on Coruscant away from Breha, and we are both under a lot of scrutiny from the public.”

Cassian nodded along seriously, his lips pressed together in thought. Anakin could feel a twisting mixture of excitement and fear swamping the Force around Cassian. “Would I still be able to visit the Temple?”

“Yes, of course,” Bail assured him. “You can choose to remain on Coruscant with me, or stay on Alderaan with Breha, or any mix of the two. You also would not inherit Breha’s title as monarch, that will go to one of Breha’s cousins. All we want from you, Cassian, is a family.”

The Force around Cassian began to settle, determination settling into the young boy’s shoulders. “Then yes, I would like that.”

“Thank you, Cassian.” Breha’s face broke into a blinding smile, holding her hands out to Cassian, palms up. Cassian looked at them for half a second, before placing his hand over hers. “I bid you welcome to House Organa, and I look forward to having you as part of our family.”

A hopeful smile grew on Cassian’s face, the light reaching his eyes as he stared at Breha and Bail.

In the end, Cassian ended up staying in the Temple for a week longer, Bail and Breha not feeling comfortable immediately dragging him from what had been his home for over seven months. Instead, one or both of them would come each day and pick him up from the Temple to spend time with him. 

It also provided Padmé an opportunity to catch up with Breha when she brought Cassian back in the evenings. Throughout that week, Anakin would often come home to find both women tucked up on the couch together, a cup of tea in hand while talking animatedly about anything from child-rearing to wedding planning to the latest policy debates. Obi-Wan joined them once, settling in next to Padmé and offering some thoughts on the Trade disputes going on between Malastare and Devaron but, generally, he and Obi-Wan left them to it.

Zatt and Luke were sad to see their friend go, but also understood that leaving would make Cassian happy. Of course, Luke was then wildly excited to discover that this meant Cassian would be coming to his parents’ wedding.

* * *

All of a sudden, just over nine months after the Empire’s demise, their marriage was upon them. The five of them left Coruscant for Naboo, with Ahsoka and Rex alongside them. Plo had wanted to come, but was unable to find any time in the schedule, especially since Obi-Wan unequivocally had to attend the wedding. Plo and the other Masters had expressed their well wishes and expected there to be many holos for them to look through upon the happy trio’s return. Obi-Wan had turned pink for that entire conversation, the Council having decided that it was an excellent topic to discuss in an official capacity. Anakin had had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

They’d managed to get a little more than three weeks organised to be away from the Temple. One week for travel there and back, one week before the wedding to prepare, and one week for a brief honeymoon on Naboo afterwards. Ahsoka and Rex had even offered to look after the twins for that final week, which their parents had gladly accepted.

Now Anakin found himself waiting in a room with Obi-Wan, the both of them dressed up to their ears in Nabooian finery and waiting on the ceremony to start. According to Naboo tradition, the bride was kept apart for three days before the wedding. For some backwards reason, that meant Anakin and Obi-Wan could at least still see each other. It also hadn’t stopped Padmé from sneaking into their room last night. Anakin shook that particular thought from his head and focused on what was in front of him.

Obi-Wan looked breathtaking. 

Anakin had very rare chances in the past to see Obi-Wan in anything other than his Jedi robes, and then after 66, anything other than plain Tatooine tunics. Currently, Obi-Wan was in an incredibly flattering set of deep blue clothes; his pants and undershirt fit him perfectly, hugging all the right places and showing of Obi-Wan’s very well cut figure. The edges of those particular garments were scattered with artistic swirling patterns in rich silver embroidery and small shining gems, but it was the outer cloak that really dazzled. It had a high collar that fit snugly around Obi-Wan’s neck, before falling over his shoulders and arms, the fabric bunching artfully around him. The cloak was heavily embroidered in gold, silver, and bronze, swirling in beautiful, intricate shapes and also scattered with small shining gems. There was definitely a Jedi bent to the design which Anakin appreciated. They also very nearly matched. Anakin’s clothes were in more of a deep green, but of a similar design in general shape. The embroidery on his clothes were more floral where Obi-Wan’s resembled the stars and galaxy above. 

“I feel ridiculous,” Obi-Wan said, catching Anakin’s eyes on him.

“You look amazing,” Anakin assured him, stepping forward and resting a hand on Obi-Wan’s. He smirked. “You’d look even better out of them.”

A nervous laugh burst from Obi-Wan, some of the tension dropping from his shoulders as he looked at Anakin properly. “I like the green of yours,” he noted, letting go of Anakin’s hand and tracing one of the designs on Anakin’s cloak. “It suits your hair.”

His hair had finally been tamed, the front portions being pulled to the back of his had and clasped into place by what had to be the galaxy’s heaviest clip. The rest had been allowed to fall free over the back of his shoulders. Obi-Wan’s hair was still short enough to just be brushed into place, the scruffy beginnings of the beard he had been regrowing was trimmed back into a neat dusting around his jaw and mouth.

Anakin smiled and leant forward, brushing their lips together.

“Nervous?” Anakin asked, lacing their fingers back together, feeling a faint tremor there.

Obi-Wan smiled. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

Anakin leant his head forward, letting their noses touch. “It’ll be fine. Just remember to say yes and we should be okay.”

Obi-Wan smiled at him up through his eyelashes.

“Oi!” Ahsoka yelled, coming into the room. “Illegal! You’re  _ not _ married, there’s no kissing.”

They both laughed and Obi-Wan took a step back for propriety's sake. “Sorry, Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan replied with a grin. 

“I  _ knew _ we shouldn’t have let you two stay together, I don’t  _ care _ what Naboo customs say,” she growled at them. “You two cannot be trusted.”

“You look great, Ahsoka,” Anakin noted, examining her traditional Togruta garb. It was all sky-blues and draped fabrics, decorated with beads and complicated patterns while Ahsoka was also decorated from head to toe in shining beads and jewellery.

Ahsoka put her hands on her hips, looking down at her long skirts. “You think so? Shaak Ti leant them to me.”

“You look very smart,” Obi-Wan confirmed.

Ahsoka grinned proudly. 

“How’d it go getting Rex and the kids into anything vaguely formal?” Anakin asked.

Ahsoka snorted. “We got there  _ eventually _ .”

Said clone ducked his head into the room and Anakin was surprised to see he’d finally cut his hair back to a more tidy length. “Ready?” Rex asked.

“Just rounding them up,” Ahsoka confirmed. “ _ Are _ you ready?”

Anakin grabbed Obi-Wan’s hand and they both nodded. 

Ahsoka led them from the room and into the wedding chamber. Their friends and family lined the chairs before the altar, Anakin not even registering who was sitting there because his gaze was captured by the vision at the end of the aisle.

Anakin felt Obi-Wan’s grip on his hand tighten as they both caught sight of Padmé. 

She was clad in a golden dress, in some ways similar to her last wedding dress, but still wildly different. The intricate lace pearling still featured heavily, but this sparkled more, with gems seemingly stitched into her clothes, much like theirs. The fabric on her torso clung tightly to her skin before falling loose below her elbows into waves of fabric. The skirt of the dress fanned outwards at her waist, layers upon layers of fabric building outwards and hanging like the petals of a rose around her. Padmé’s hair was loose around her shoulders with a golden lace veil falling from the top of her head and down her back. She smiled with red lips as she glimpsed the two of them, her eyes darting over both their forms, her brown eyes drinking in every inch of them.

Before he knew it, Anakin found himself in front of the officiant alongside Padmé and Obi-Wan. They stood together, each holding hands in a small circle while facing the officiant. His heart beat heavily in his chest as the three of them stood there, trying not to tear up before they even began. In the end, Anakin barely heard a word the officiant said, though honestly he didn’t think he heard any of it the first time either. He was far too enraptured with the two beautiful, wonderful people before his eyes.

Suddenly the twins were there beside them, both of them carrying a small box each. Luke was in a clean white shirt and pants with a sky blue cape hanging from his shoulder. Leia was in matching colours with a loose white dress and blue shawl draped over her shoulders and falling down her back. Both of them had their hair pulled off of their faces with intricate braiding littered with beads and ribbons. They looked utterly adorable.

“Mummy, you look so beautiful,” Luke whispered.

“You look wonderful too,” Padmé whispered back. “I love your hair, darling.”

“Me too?” Leia asked.

“You as well,” Anakin assured him. “You look very beautiful. Now did you two have something for us?”

“Oh!” Luke exclaimed, holding out his box in front of him. “Yeah.”

Leia did the same to Padmé saying, “Ahsoka said to give you these.”

Good to know that  _ someone _ knew what was meant to be happening.

Their jobs completed, Luke and Leia rushed back to where Ahsoka was standing off to the side with Rex. Ahsoka shot them a thumbs up, which Anakin readily returned. 

Anakin flicked open the box to reveal a single small ring that looked to be Padmé’s size. She must have theirs then. The ring was a plain band of polished chromium set in a small black silk pillow. He knew that he and Obi-Wan would likely only rarely wear the rings on their fingers given how they would hinder blade-work and cause damage to both their sabres and the rings. Anakin had sneakily purchased a couple of necklace chains to solve the issue and he looked forward to giving Obi-Wan his later. 

As both Obi-Wan and Padmé in turn affirmed each of their vows, rings began to be exchanged, and Anakin felt his heart-rate jump at each word. 

Then it was his turn.

He promised to love the both of them forever, and to be there for them no matter what. He swore to share the good and the bad, and to support their family in every way he could. He accepted his role as husband, and watched in wonder as Obi-Wan slid the chromium ring onto his left middle finger as was traditional on Naboo. 

A delighted, irresistible smile broke out onto his face as he stared at the band around his finger.

This was  _ real _ .

Then the officiant said something about kissing and Anakin was  _ there _ . He gripped Padmé’s hand tightly as he surged forward and pressed his lips against Obi-Wan’s, his  _ husband _ returning the kiss in kind, a warm hand coming up to cup the back of his head. Then Padmé’s hip bumped his and Anakin let go to watch Padmé do exactly the same thing to their shared partner, leaning in and slotting their mouths together, the both of them wearing matching smiles.

Anakin quietly added another memory to his list of best things to ever happen to him.

Then Padmé was kissing him and Anakin poured out all the love he could muster into their connection. Her eyes sparkled as they pulled apart.   

Thankfully, once the ceremony was over, Naboo custom basically boiled down to ‘have a wonderful party’ and that was a sentiment Anakin could get behind. He was just about shaking with excitement. 

They were  _ married _ . 

Anakin felt a corresponding thrill of joy dance across his and Obi-Wan’s bond, Anakin feeling a strong hand coming to rest on his hip and Obi-Wan slid a little closer and pressed a kiss to the side of Anakin’s face.

“Come on, my two beautiful husbands,” Padmé said, leaning in to kiss them both again, a glowing smile on her lips. “It’s time to celebrate.”

They were initially cornered by Padmé’s family who had been moved to tears by the ceremony. Padmé had kept in frequent touch with her family over the past nine months; she would call them at least once a fortnight to talk, Padmé unable to get away to Naboo for any length of time, and her family unable to get enough time off from their respective work to come to Coruscant. They had all been instrumental in putting the wedding together, a fact which had Anakin and Obi-Wan thanking them multiple times in the week leading up to the ceremony.

It had been good to spend time with them in that week. Anakin had been fawned over by Padmé’s mother, Jobal, who seemed to be making up for the lost years by spending as much time with Anakin and Obi-Wan as possible. Jobal certainly went out of her way to make sure Anakin and Obi-Wan felt included in what they were doing. It was nice having a motherly figure in his life again. Ruwee kept to himself more, mainly seeming less enthusiastic about wedding planning, however one evening did see him and Obi-Wan sitting around with a few glasses of wine and discussing the different merits of each. Anakin still maintained that wine was just wine.

Bail, Breha, and Cassian were also in attendance, all three of them looking every inch of royalty that they were. Cassian, in his formal Alderaanian robes, had relocated to sit at the table with Luke and Leia, the three of them looking terribly classy together, mimicking the formal behaviours of the adults around them. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé greeted them warmly, Bail and Breha offering up their sincerest congratulations, fetching them a glass of Toniray wine each.

Then they had found Owen and Beru who had managed to get a neighbour to watch their farm for a few days. Padmé’s family had been very kind and had housed Anakin’s family in their home for the few days they were there. Anakin embraced his step-brother, the two of them getting into a somber discussion about how much both their parents would have loved to be here.

He and Obi-Wan even had a brief conversation with Qui-Gon in a secluded corner of the room so as to not look like complete lunatics as the Force ghost of Obi-Wan’s former master wished them a sincere congratulations. 

The greatest surprise came in the unexpected form of Quinlan Vos, dressed in his nicest Jedi robes and flirting with one of Padmé’s distant cousins by the drinks table.

“What, you think I’d miss this?” Vos asked, pulling Obi-Wan into a tight, one armed hug. “Not a chance. Someone had to come send you off in style.”

Obi-Wan laughed. “Thank you, Quinlan. Though I also think you just can’t resist a party.”

“Ah,” Vos exclaimed, “you’ve got me there.”

The celebration went on for some time, Anakin particularly enjoyed the dance between a equally tipsy Ahsoka and Rex, the both of them trying to lead and neither being any good at it. Anakin had taken the chance to jump in, taking Ahsoka’s hand for a spin around the floor. He let her lead.

“Thank you for your help,” Anakin said as they moved across the dance floor.

Ahsoka shrugged. “It was fun. Thank you for including me.”

“Of course. We couldn’t have it without you.”

Ahsoka grinned brightly at him. 

“My turn?” Obi-Wan asked, suddenly beside them, and Anakin moved to take his hand.

“Oh no,” Obi-Wan said, smiling and stepping closer to Ahsoka. “Padmé wants you, I think it’s my turn with the lovely Ahsoka here. Save one for me later.”

Ahsoka laughed at Anakin’s scowl and he went hunting for his wife. 

“I see he’s already left us for a younger woman,” Padmé joked, nodding her head at where Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were dancing.

Anakin snorted a laugh, wrapping his hands around hers and leaning in for a kiss. “Seems that way. Will you dance with me?”

Padmé kissed him again. “Of course.”

There was a short round-robin of dancing, Anakin pairing up with Padmé, Luke, Bail, Leia, and a brief twirl with Rex, before he finally managed to catch Obi-Wan after his dance with Vos. Obi-Wan’s hands were warm and gentle as they took Anakin’s, pulling him closer.

“Happy?” Anakin asked, pressing his face to the side of Obi-Wan’s head and inhaling deeply, his heart fit to bursting.

“More than I can ever convey, dear one.” Anakin felt his husband send a burst of emotion along their bond, a burning feeling of love and happiness searing through his whole body, matching Anakin’s emotions near-exactly.

Anakin breathed out a sigh of contentment, and closed his eyes as he kissed Obi-Wan’s lips.

Slowly, the evening began to wear down. 

Anakin yawned through a smile as he watched Obi-Wan twirl Leia around the floor, their daughter smiling widely as her dress fanned out around her. Then Jobal was tapping at his shoulder and rounding up Padmé and Obi-Wan to be secreted out a back door and into a waiting speeder.

“Congratulations, and have a wonderful week,” she said, kissing each of them on the cheek. “We’ll make sure to help Ahsoka and Rex with the kids. You three make sure you have fun.”

“We will. Thank you, Mama,” Padmé said, gripping her mother’s hand tightly.

Then they were off.

The trip only took about an hour, but Obi-Wan was making great strides toward falling asleep, his head pillowed against Anakin’s shoulder. When they arrived at the lake house, Padmé had taken it upon herself to wake Obi-Wan up with a string of kisses along his jaw and mouth. It had been a very effective method.

“Come on,” Padmé urged him, pulling Obi-Wan from the vehicle with Anakin’s assistance. “You’re going to love this place.”

Padmé led them both through the house and out onto the far balcony to stare out at the lake and the water glistening with the last light of the sun. Anakin watched Obi-Wan and Padmé stand at the edge of the balcony, the gems and beads in their clothes sparkling in the light. They looked like ethereal Gods in Anakin’s eyes. the two most beautiful beings in the galaxy, here, beside him, standing resplendent in the evening light.

“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?” Anakin breathed, staring out at the last rays of the sunset as it painted pinks and purples over the horizon.

Obi-Wan hummed. “I’ve seen better.” He fixed the two of them with a pointed stare.

“You utter  _ sap _ ,” Padmé accused and threw her arms around Obi-Wan’s shoulders, leaning up to kiss his neck. “Awful, just awful,” she muttered between kisses.

Eventually, the three of them escaped their clothes. It took much longer than any of them would have liked—twenty minutes was far too long to remove a few pieces of fabric from a body—but soon enough Anakin was greeted by the glorious sight of Obi-Wan and Padmé laying together on the bed, with Anakin sitting on the edge as he pulled the last part of his shirt over his head.

“Shall we just sleep tonight?” Anakin suggested, watching the way tiredness was clinging to the edge of Obi-Wan, with Padmé also looking like she too was beginning to flag. He snuggled in between the two of them, laying on his back and catching each of their hands in his. “We have all week to have other kinds of fun.”

Obi-Wan chuckled and softly kissed his cheek, a hand coming to rest on Anakin’s stomach. “Sounds wonderful. I look forward to it.”

Padmé hummed in agreement and pressed her face into the skin of Anakin’s shoulder. “I love you both so much.”

They fell asleep in a pile of limbs and silent adoration.

The week they spent on Naboo after the wedding was perfect. The trio spent their first day in bed together, with no responsibilities or children to drag them from each others arms. It was a luxury they hadn’t had in a long time, and Anakin was determined not to squander it. Thankfully, his spouses seemed to share his enthusiasm, and the three of them enjoyed one another's bodies until they were boneless wrecks, unable to do anything but hold each other close. The second day saw them picnicking and swimming by the lakeside, Padmé inevitably starting another water fight, determined to win this one. The rest of the week was spent in utter relaxation. Just doing whatever took their fancy and making use of the free time to lie around listlessly, wrapped up in one another, and thanking their lucky stars for the past five years turning out the way they had.

* * *

In the months following their wedding, the last quarter of the year passed in a much more relaxed fashion.

One of the first things that Anakin began work on upon their return was to build rooms for the Younglings and Padawans with the assistance of the maintenance crew. Currently, the children were spread around between adults or given their own small quarters, which had worked for the first little while, but was now becoming inconvenient.

Anakin and Appo designed the new accomodations to be a series of rooms that would be better for accomodating children, and one larger living space that would better accommodate his entire family so that Anakin could remain close to his charges. 

The design for the Skywalker quarters involved an large open kitchen and living room area as you entered it, with two doors on the opposite wall, and two doors on the right hand wall. The two doors on the right would be Luke and Leia’s rooms; they were still happy to share for now, but they all anticipated that this would not be the case forever, and so planned on having one as a playroom and office space for now. The rooms opposite the entryway were Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé’s bedroom on the left, and a spacious bathroom on the right.

Then, to the left of their quarters, they planned a hallway leading down to the students quarters. They went back and forth on ideas, but eventually decided on a mixture of individual and double rooms. The individual rooms were planned to be for the older children, and the shared rooms would be for the younger students. Each set of rooms would have a bathroom, a bedroom each, and a work space each. The idea was to give the kids a place of their own to go relax or work, but not somewhere to hide away for an extended period of time. They were planning to create a few shared spaces around the Temple for the students to hang out in.

They planned of having these student rooms take up one of the upper floor of the Temple, as a number of the kids were still anxious about the previous fate of the Temple, and being further away from the entrance seemed to soothe a lot of their worries. It also put them a bit closer to the classrooms, the meal area, and the training rooms, which meant they didn’t have too far to travel for most locations they’d have to go on a regular basis. All in all, Anakin and Appo were very pleased with their plans.

Once that was all decided, funding was organised, Plo gave them the all clear, and construction began. All in all, with constant work, Anakin and the team of clones managed to get the rooms they needed constructed within a month. It wasn’t all they wanted to do, knowing that they’d need more rooms as more children joined the Order, but it was enough to accomodate the number they currently had.

That sorted, they began moving everyone into their new quarters. Anakin’s spouses had been  _ ecstatic _ to have more room to live in, a Master-Padawan suite designed for two people had been okay in the short term, but was increasingly frustrating for a group of five. Now it was more the size of their home on Tatooine at the start of their stay which was much more manageable. Luke and Leia hadn’t really noticed the difference, the both of them just happy to have a little more space in the living room to hang about in. They were also pleased that they were now closer to all the other children in the temple. The Younglings and Padawans loved their rooms too, particularly the fact that it gave them a little freedom, while still staying close to Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé.

All the while, Padmé threw herself back into her work in the Senate with Shaak Ti. The pair were a force to be reckoned with—pun entirely intended—and managed to maintain the autonomy of the Temple and it’s goals, while keeping the Senate content and managing disagreements like the seasoned professionals they were.

Obi-Wan was equally diligent in his duties, always darting around the Temple and ready to manage any and all problems that arose. For the most part, he and Plo managed the day to day life in the Temple and, as of about ten months after the Empire’s fall, began handing out missions for Jedi, and sometimes an additional Padawan, to take.  

Even now, with the Temple and Jedi back in a semblance of order, their lives stayed much the same as it had on Tatooine. They made time for one another, they always spent the evening together unless something truly urgent came up, and their love for each other only continued to grow. Anakin and Obi-Wan only took short missions if absolutely necessary so as not to be away from home for too long, while Padmé almost never had to go off world for work. Anakin’s flashbacks of Sidious had stopped entirely a few months ago, and none of them still held onto the anxieties they’d encountered on their first return to the Temple. 

Luke and Leia’s formal education was progressing increasingly well. It had chafed them initially to suddenly go from the very loose educational structure on Tatooine, to something much more rigid that didn’t directly involve their parents. It was good for them. Both of the twins had been highly dependent on their parents, and this was slightly exacerbated after the incident with Sidious, so the forced separation and independence had to happen eventually. Some of the frustration the twins faced was negated somewhat by the fact that Anakin was in charge of all the Younglings, so they got to see him often throughout the day. Their power and control continued to develop at an almost equal rate, which reduced some of the worries of some of their teachers. They were good students, even if Leia seemed to fight authority at every turn, and Luke was far too excitable for his own good. Regardless, they were loved.

Artoo and Threepio continued on as they always had, bickering amongst themselves and proving to be more of a nuisance than any kind of help. Threepio ended up spending the majority of his time in the Library assisting Madame Nu, who had developed a soft spot for the protocol droid, or assisting Master Koon in diplomatic areas. Artoo did whatever he felt like. Sometimes he would assist on mission, sometimes he would put on holograms for the kids in one of the communal spaces, sometimes he would follow Anakin around and try to teach the Padawans how to swear in binary. Most of the time, Artoo would order around the other droids and make sure that the Temple was always in tip-top shape. It seemed to have become a matter of pride to the astromech.

The Jedi continued to thrive under the guiding hand of Master Plo Koon, the Order running smoothly and cohesively, even after such a devastating blow. The Younglings and Padawans continued to make great strides forward, particularly with the change to the Order’s stance on emotion. The ex-clone troopers also seemed very happy. While it had taken time for both the Jedi and the clones to adjust to the shift in power dynamics, as time had passed the ex-troopers stopped snapping to attention if a Jedi so much as twitched, and the Jedi were very careful in how they requested things. Some clones ended up leaving the Temple, finding work elsewhere or deciding that this wasn’t the path they wanted to take. Those that chose to stay however, were very contented, fitting seamlessly into life at the Temple and helping to fill its lingering emptiness. 

It was, in a word, perfect.

* * *

As it was coming up to a year after the death of the Empire, Anakin felt the itch to return to Tatooine. Kitster still called on occasion to talk to Anakin or discuss the ongoing application of Tatooine to join the Republic, and Anakin wanted to go back and see how it had all changed in the past year. He wanted to visit Kix, and he wanted to see Kitster again, and more than anything, he wanted to see what a Hutt-free Tatooine looked like. Also, he should probably check in that Hondo wasn’t destroying anything too important. That, and, well, Luke had made a very strange scarf and declared it was a gift for Hondo the next time he visited. Anakin had had to explain that Hondo probably wouldn’t visit them on Coruscant, but that he would give Hondo the gift the next time he saw him. Anakin also felt a horrible desire to  _ invite _ the pirate to visit them in the Temple. Obi-Wan had looked at him like he’d lost his mind when he’d suggested it, only to then sigh and mumble something about owing the pirate.

In the end, Anakin decided to go alone. Obi-Wan and Padmé couldn’t find the time between the three of them to go with him, and the twins would miss far too much class in the few weeks they would have be away. He’d even offered for Artoo to come along, but the droid had whistled angrily about getting sand in his servoes again, and went to hide in Ahsoka’s room. Anakin had taken it as a no.

It was nice in some ways; he was able to borrow a one man ship and have a quiet ride across the galaxy; feel the cosmic winds in his hair and have some time to think. 

Anakin didn’t think he’d ever been happier in his life; he had Padmé and Obi-Wan in his heart, Luke and Leia safe and growing well, Ahsoka happy back in the Temple, the Jedi back where they belonged, and the clones were free and doing whatever they pleased with their lives. Anakin, somehow, miraculously, got to have the life he always wanted, Jedi and family and freedom all in one…although it had cost the lives of so many to get there. There was the matter of the prophecy, but now it too had been addressed and the solution apparently found, the weight of it around his neck had fallen away from his shoulders like a heavy mantle losing its grip of him. He felt lighter in so many ways.Anakin watched the stars fly past him, his free hand fiddling with the ring around his neck, and thanked every one of them for the past few years.

Upon arriving on Tatooine Anakin was met by Kix at the Mos Espa spaceport, his once-medic waving enthusiastically from the edge of the landing strip. Kix’s hair had lost much of the decorative shaving patterns on his hair, now with a more locally inspired spiralling design through the side of his head. Anakin thought it suited him.

Anakin pulled Kix into a quick, one armed embrace.

“Kix, how’ve you been?”

“Busy,” the doctor replied, “much the same as before you left, just with more free people. You?”

“Really good,” Anakin said. “The Temple is recovering well and the family is very happy.”

Kix nodded. “I hear your wedding was nice. Rex told me all about it. Sorry I couldn’t make it.”

“It’s fine, the people here need you,” Anakin said, waving the apology away. “You’re still happy here?”

Kix looked back at the city. “Yeah. I miss the others, but I have purpose here. That makes me happy.”

Anakin nodded in understanding.

“Come on, lemme buy you a drink before we head home,” Kix said, slapping him on the back. “I’m sure there’s a few people around who’d like to see you.”

That turned out to be a massive understatement. 

A fair portion of patrons recognised him as Seripas, legendary thing-fixer and general kind soul, while the other half recognised him from holos over the past year as Anakin Skywalker, Jedi hero and famous local pod-racer. Watching both people collide in the collective memory of the populace was very strange and ultimately resulted in the same solution; buying Anakin a drink. Kix helped him for a while, Anakin sliding him drinks when people weren’t watching, and drinking the rest. By the end, Anakin didn’t think he’d ever been this drunk. In fact, thoughts in general were not really happening just now. Kix just seemed to become louder and more prone to laugher the deeper into their cups they got.

Then…it all went a little fuzzy until he woke up the next morning.

He woke up to a buzz of his comm-device a message from Obi-Wan on his comm device requesting he call them. He was disoriented at first, confused as to where he was until the red-orange stone around him swam into focus. Tatooine. Anakin sat up, the room swimming oddly as his stomach churned. His eyes hurt.

Dragging himself out of the bed he had no memory of getting into, Anakin exited the room and found himself in a small living room.

“Morning,” Kix greeted, sitting at a round table in the corner of the room.

Anakin grumbled, “Mornin’” in return. Kix seemed far better off than he was.

The ex-clone trooper laughed at his attitude. 

“Do you mind if I use your comm?” Anakin asked, nodding at the old device sitting on the corner of the table that Anakin recognised from their home out in the wastes. “Obi-Wan wanted me to call him.”

“Knock yourself out,” Kix replied, and vanished through a doorway. Anakin peeked in after him to find a small kitchen. Curiosity settled, he sent a reply to Obi-Wan and dialled home.

“Hey,” Anakin greeted, waving as Obi-Wan and Padmé appeared before him.

“What on earth did you get up to last night, dear one?” Obi-Wan asked. His voice was infinitely patient as he and Padmé watched Anakin with expectant looks.

Anakin blinked. “I went for drinks with Kix and then…half of Tatooine…I think.”

Padmé snorted. “Yeah, that explains it,” she said to Obi-Wan.

“Explains what?”

Obi-Wan smiled, clearly trying to resist the urge to do so. “We received some rather sweet and flirtatious messages last night. Then they just got…increasingly graphic.”

“Oh.” Anakin ignored the way Kix broke into guffawing laughter behind him, feeling the heat of embarrassment crawling up his neck. “I don’t remember sending them.”

“You should look back over them,” Padmé said lightly. “There were some rather inspired ones in there I think we should talk about when you get back.”

Kix’s laughter died at that as he darted back into the room, exclaiming, “No! No, I don’t want to hear any of it. This conversion is over.”

This time it was Padmé’s turn to laugh, apologising to Kix before turning the conversation onto something more mundane. They spoke about the goings on in the Temple, with Luke briefly appearing to say hello to his father and telling him about how he and Aulu had been able to master the latest Force exercise. 

“Come on,” Kix called eventually. “You’re gonna be late if you don’t get a move on, Kitster’s waiting for you.”

“Call back in a few days?” Padmé asked.

“I will,” Anakin promised before hanging up the call and yelling “Coming!” after Kix. 

“Where are we?” Anakin asked. “Still Mos Espa?”

“Yeah” Kix confirmed. “I ended up renting out the farm to a couple of families for cheap. I figured you all wouldn’t mind.”

Anakin shook his head. “No, that’s fine. I’m glad the house is being used. Do you live here by yourself?”

“Nah. I share with Brato now—he left hours ago; something about a broken leg—We figured it’d be easier for everyone to find a doctor in a rush if we stayed in the same place. Also, it cut my commute down by a lot.”

“Smart.”

Kix retreated to the kitchen before reappearing and plonking a plate of bread and a cup of water down in front of Anakin. “Eat. Then go. Kitster dropped in earlier and said to meet him at his house.”

“Thanks, Kix”

He felt much better after rehydrating and eating, though he could have definitely gone for a long nap to chase off the rest of his hangover. Kix then shoved him out the door, informed him to play nice with his friends and be home in time for dinner, before shutting the door in his face. Anakin could do nothing but chuckle and do as he was told.

Mos Espa looked different. Not radically, but different enough that it was noticeable. No-one was in chains. No-one was being dragged after an angry master or in such a clear state of mistreatment. There was still poverty and crime, but Anakin couldn’t see a single hint or suggestion that any of these people were  _ belongings _ . 

He had to stop for a long moment and pull himself to the side of the road, a tight feeling rising in his throat as he stared at the town that had been his home, filled with free citizens of the galaxy. Anakin found himself sobbing into his hand as he watched the mundanities of life move past him. He’d accomplished the one thing he’d promised himself as a child. He’d kriffing done it. Tatooine was free.

Finally, when he could breathe again and had wiped the tears from his eyes with the hem of his cloak, Anakin moved forwards. He weaved through the streets of his home, taking the well-trodden backstreets to Kitster’s home. He spotted him leaning up against the side of a building, blue tunics standing out against the sandy orange of the architecture.

“Kitster!” Anakin called, jogging over to his friend.

Kitster grinner and clasped their hands together. “Ani! It’s so good to see you again, my friend.”

“You as well. How’ve you been?”

The pair of them walked and talked, Kitster recounting much of his year, and Anakin responding in turn. Everything Kitster was saying boded well for the future of Tatooine; they’d managed to chase off the few slaver rings that had come sniffing around and all the ex-slaves had found some kind of paying work, though it sounded like there was still a lot of headway that could be made there. Kitster also talked about how their application to the Senate was going (which was well, if buried in paperwork), and that Hondo had kept his word and generally kept to himself.

As they talked, Kitster toured him around what had once been the slave quarters and his home. They looked cleaner than Anakin had ever seen them in his life, and once he was taken inside, the were also somewhat larger. Walls had been demolished and families had joined their small lodgings together into something more homely. Amenities and furniture were still falling apart at the seams, but that was going to take time. If nothing else, all the now-free people of Tatooine were just that;  _ free,  _ and from what Anakin saw, generally happy. 

The rest of his week on Tatooine was taken up by spending time with Kitster during the day as his friend showed him around, and spending the evenings catching up with Kix and Brato and hearing about what they’d been up to for the past year. Then as the week wore on, Anakin inevitably ended up helping fix things around town. He was still recognised at the go to man for tricky fixes, and kriff were there more than a few of those. In the end, on an excellent suggestion by Kitster, Anakin spent two days showing a variety of people how to do basic troubleshooting and maintenance on common items. Three of his pupils showed particular promise, and Anakin had high hopes of them being able to do what he had while they’d lived on Tatooine. He also offered to come back again within the year to hold more lessons, a suggestion that Kitster had excitedly agreed on. He’d also managed to find an afternoon in which to go visit Owen and Beru in which the three of them had caught up over lunch, their lives continuing in much the same avenue as it ever had, the both of them still content to stay on Tatooine. 

Before he left, Anakin took the time to visit his mother’s grave, kneeling before her battered headstone and spoken softly about the past year. The twins, the Temple, his marriage, and everything in between. He spoke of his worries and his triumphs and wished how she could have seen a free Tatooine. 

He wished she could see his family. 

He imagined that she would be proud.

Then, on his final day before going home, Anakin finally got around to the one thing he’d be actively avoiding; going to visit Hondo.

He’d said his goodbyes to Kix, Brato, and Kitster earlier, wishing them all the best and inviting them for a visit to Coruscant if they ever felt like it. Kitster suggested that he probably would soon when their application moved onto the next stage though Kix and Brato had been less inclined, but the offer remained if the mood ever took them. Then he’d gone to the spaceport and picked up his ship, flying the distance from Mos Espa to what the locals now called ‘Hondo’s Palace’.

Anakin’s first surprise was how easily he could just walk in the front door. The second surprise was how drastically different the decor was; where Jabba had enjoyed plain stone walls with some carved decoration, Hondo and his crew had covered the place in paintings, rugs, tapestries, masks, carvings, and all sorts of unidentifiable things. It felt, strangely enough,  _ homey _ .

Hondo had met him in what had been the throne room (now with one-hundred-percent less dead bodies) to greet Anakin, before ushering him into a corridor and into a smaller room with a long, curved couch, buried in a wide variety of soft pillows.

“Much more pleasant to do business in private,” Hondo said, sitting down at one end of the couch and leaning back. “Now, tell me, how are my  _ beautiful _ grandchildren?”

Anakin ignored the last part of the question. “They’re well,” he replied. “In fact, Luke sent me with something for you.”

The pirate’s eyes lit up with excitement. He clapped his hands together. “Yes! A gift for  _ Hondo!  _ Ah, I  _ knew _ they loved me.”

Anakin smiled and pulled the scarf from his bag adding, “He made it himself.” Well, mostly. Padmé had helped.

Hondo graciously took the scarf, feeling the fabric between his fingers. It was made from six different fabrics that had been painstakingly plaited together. It was a little rough around the edges, but what truly made it interesting was the vast ranges of colours, none of which were particularly nice together, an odd mash of greens, pinks and purples.

“I love it,” Hondo declared and wrapped the garment around his neck, clashing loudly with everything else he was wearing. “I too have some gifts saved for them.”

Anakin resisted sighing and watched the pirate begin digging through a trunk in the corner of the room.

“For Luke,” Hondo said, handing Anakin a helmet that looked very similar to the one Hondo often wore. He then dug further into the trunk and pulled out a blue crystal the size of his fist. He dropped it into Anakin’s lap, “That’s for Leia.”

Anakin stared at the gem in confusion.

“It is worth nothing,” Hondo assured him, “but it is pretty.”

“Thank you, I’ll make sure they get them.”

The conversation from there was stilted. Anakin had never had the…particular brand of relationship with Hondo that Obi-Wan had, not that Obi-Wan particularly  _ wanted _ that relationship. They spoke of nothing, Hondo dancing around the fact that he was actively practicing piracy in the surrounding systems, and Anakin doing his utmost to not give Hondo any kind of useful information. Anakin had even suggested Hondo visit, so long as he didn’t do anything questionable.

“Mmm,” Hondo mused, his hand stroking the spikes on his chin. “Coruscant is not for dear old Hondo, but I will consider it.”

When they ran out of things to talk about, Hondo waved Anakin goodbye with a wide grin that was half hidden in Luke’s scarf while Anakin wondered how his life had even reached to this point. Anakin just shook his head and waved back. 

With one final backwards glance at the desert landscape around him, spending a long moment to take in the rich red and golds of the land, Anakin climbed into his ship.

The flight home was as relaxing as the flight out, the familiarity of the stars and the galaxy bolstering his heart as he raced past countless systems, the Force keeping him company the whole way. 

Then before he realised it, he was landing on Coruscant.

Anakin watched from the ship as the landing ramp lowered to the platform of the Jedi Temple.

His family was waiting for him on the platform below, Padmé and Obi-Wan standing side by side, their arms linked together at the elbows. Obi-Wan’s auburn and grey-streaked hair bent towards their wife, attentively listening to what she was saying as they waited on Anakin. The twins were next to them, watching the ship with excited eyes, while Ahsoka crouched beside them, saying something to the twins above the hum of the engines.

Anakin smiled as he walked down the ramp to the sound of two excited yells and his two youngest children rushed forward to throw themselves at his legs, clamouring for his attention. Anakin greeted them both, pulling them in for a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead, before looking up to see Padmé and Obi-Wan standing in front of him with warm eyes.

“Welcome home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love, it will not betray you  
> Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free  
> Be more like the man you were made to be.
> 
> “Sigh No More” — Mumford & Sons

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hello on tumblr under [edenwolfie](http://edenwolfie.tumblr.com) :)


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